Identity thief dental clerk jailed
A dental receptionist who stole patients’ identities has been sentenced to more than five years in jail.
US District Court Judge Hilda Tagle ordered that Claire Batsell, 25, from Brownsville, spend five years and nine months behind bars after she pleaded guilty to embezzlement and identity theft.
The receptionist admitted pocketing cash which patients had used to pay their dental bills and stealing details to open several credit card accounts between May 2006 and July 2007.
Her former employer testified against her at the sentencing hearing, saying that she a destroyed his reputation which he had built up over 35 years.
He also informed Judge Tagle that he had had to pay back several credit card companies for the fraudulent charges and that she had damaged a number of patients’ credit ratings.
Batsell will also spend three years on probation after her prison sentence and was ordered to pay $110,000 in restitution.
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