{Coral Springs Police}
A Coral Springs woman allegedly stole the private medical information of dozens of senior patients at the medical practice where she worked, using the details to help carry out a major financial fraud scheme, authorities said.
Claudia Jules, 41, was arrested Tuesday by the Coral Springs Police Department’s Strategic Enforcement Team and charged with two counts of using people’s personal identification information without their consent, according to online jail records.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said Jules was being held at the Broward County Jail on a $200,000 bond while awaiting extradition to Volusia County, where some of the alleged crimes occurred.
Body camera footage recorded by Coral Springs Police SET team members shows Jules being taken into custody in a parking lot and telling them she did not steal the identities. On Friday, it was not immediately clear whether she had made her first court appearance.
Jules’ arrest marks the latest twist in a sprawling fraud case in which 72 people, including dozens of seniors, had their identities stolen. According to Volusia County Sheriff’s Office investigators, all the victims had one thing in common: They were patients at a Delray Beach medical practice where Jules worked from 2016 until 2021.
Authorities said the fraud investigation began in 2021 when a senior victim in Delray Beach discovered someone had used his identity to buy a vehicle at Daytona Kia in Daytona Beach.
Claudia Jules {Volusia County Sheriff’s Office}
The ensuing investigation by Daytona Beach Police and the Florida Attorney General’s Office – dubbed “Operation Soul Stingers” – identified 17 accused perpetrators allegedly involved in stealing the 72 victims’ identities, authorities said.
The victims’ personal information was used to buy over $350,000 worth of new cars, apply for COVID loans, and open lines of credit.
According to VSO, Drayton McMillan, the ringleader in the fraud scheme, is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence.
Another accused participant in the scheme, Shaquiledra Johnson, 28, was arrested in March in central Florida.
Upon learning of Johnson’s arrest, VSO Financial Crimes Det. Bill Weaver reopened the investigation and interviewed Johnson, according to VSO. The information from that interview – coupled with months of additional police work – led to Weaver identifying Jules as the source of the stolen identities, authorities said.
According to VSO, Jules was a former girlfriend of McMillan – the accused ringleader – and supplied him with the stolen identities. Through the reopened investigation, Weaver said he learned Jules had worked in the medical practice’s records section, where she had full access to patients’ private information.
According to VSO, McMillan used the patients’ identities to make purchases for himself and Jules. Authorities said the cost of the fraudulent purchases became larger as time went on.
The Florida Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting Jules’s case. Other participants in the fraud scheme have also been charged.
Send Your News to Coral Springs #1 Award-Winning News Site Here. Don’t miss reading Parkland Talk, Tamarac Talk, Coconut Creek Talk, and Margate Talk.
Author Profile
- Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning journalist and author of two nonfiction books. He covers general assignment news and Jewish community issues for Talk Media. He has also worked as a staff writer at The Miami Times, the Rio Grande SUN, the New York Daily News, Newsday, The Miami Herald, The Palm Beach Post, The Riverdale Press, and Bronx Justice News.
Related
NewsDecember 10, 2024Study: Coral Springs Among Top 5 Best Places to Move in FL
Crime & SafetyDecember 8, 2024Coral Springs Police Investigate Ramblewood East Condominium Amid Resident Allegations of Mismanagement
NewsDecember 5, 2024Coral Springs Terminates Swim Club Contract With Company That Faced Bullying Claims
NewsDecember 1, 2024New Public Sculptures, Murals Planned for Coral Springs
