Hospital Worker and Her Son Steal the Identities of Dead Patients

Trio Has Been Arrested and Charged with Identity Theft

A mother, her son, and the son's wife have been charged with stealing identities from dying hospital patients in Louisiana.

Rebecca Stockdale worked as an emergency room clerk in the Slidell Memorial Hospital in Louisiana. When emergency room patients arrived in serious condition, Rebecca would send her son, Robert Ezell, text messages. These messages relayed personal information about the patients including names, social security numbers, and birth dates.

If the patients died, Ezell would apply for credit cards soon after using the names and information from the dead victims. Robert Ezell used addresses of houses that had been vacated during Hurricane Katrina and remained empty.

Robert Ezell would also read the local obituaries in the newspaper. He would call Stockdale with a list of names. Rebecca Stockdale would then search the hospital database to see if any of the people had ever been patients at the hospital. If so, she would copy the social security number and other pertinent information.

Allegedly, they stole the identities of over one hundred dead patients. They received at least 17 credit cards in the patients' names, which they then used to buy merchandise. Credit cards continued to arrive in the mail at the vacant houses after the perpetrators were arrested.

The trio were caught when authorities were tipped off by a business competitor of Robert Ezell. The business owner reported to the sheriff's department that someone had applied for a credit card in his name. The investigation led to Robert Ezell.

When arrested, Robert Ezell allegedly had in his possession a list containing the names and social security numbers of more than 70 dead people.

Among many other charges, Robert Ezell and Rebecca Stockdale have been charged with more than 100 counts of identity theft. Robert Ezell's wife, Charlotte Cooper-Ezell, has also been charged for allegedly helping fill out fraudulent credit card applications. She has been charged with 84 counts of identity theft.