Hospital worker says she stole 20 identities a week

DENVER - In an exclusive interview with 9Wants to Know, the woman facing charges for stealing patient records from St. Anthony Central Hospital says she might have helped to steal many more identities than previously thought.

Dawn Philbin, 51 of Lakewood, also said she lied to the hospital about the reasons why she gave the stolen data to accused identity thief Paul Simmons.

According to arrest warrants, when St. Anthony Central administrators confronted Philbin on Jan. 21, she told them that a family friend forced her to take the patient records out of the hospital or he would kill her daughter. However, in an interview with Investigative Reporter Deborah Sherman Wednesday, Philbin admitted she made up the story.

Instead, Philbin says she gave the documents to long-time family friend Paul Simmons, because she felt like she owed him.

"It wasn't for money, it wasn't for drugs, it was out of guilt for him helping my family," she said. "I was sucked in."

Philbin says Simmons wasn't telling the truth either when he told 9NEWS Tuesday that the operation was the brain child of his friend and business partner. Philbin told 9NEWS she handed the documents to Simmons and no one else.

In the warrants, Philbin told the hospital Simmons "told her what types of patient information she should get, such as white men, and then she would pick the patients randomly and print out their admission forms and driver's licenses." St. Anthony Central administrators fired Philbin after they say she admitted to the thefts.

In her interview with 9NEWS, Philbin said she had no idea what Simmons was doing with the IDs.

Last month, 139 copies of patient records were found inside the abandoned storage unit of convicted felon Simmons, 46, along with other stolen personal documentation. It included fake and real driver's licenses, Social Security cards, birth certificates and a printer. It is believed the documents were stolen out of homes, hotel rooms, cars or St. Anthony Central over the last three years.

Philbin, who worked at St. Anthony Central for five years, told police Simmons and his friends would contact her periodically over about a year and a half when they needed copies of documents made. She told 9NEWS she was providing about 20 identities to Simmons per week.

The hospital admits it may not know the extent of the identity thefts.

"There quite possibly could be more [victims]," said Jim Feldbush, communications director for Centura Health, which operates St. Anthony Central. "There may be others out there we don't know about."

In a statement to 9NEWS Wednesday night, the Hospital says it "has conducted a system audit, talked with the Denver Police and has reason to believe that the records recovered in the storage area are all that were stolen by our former associate."

The hospital says if it discovers that more records were stolen, it will provide those individuals with the same identity protection package that was offered to those whose records the hospital confirmed were stolen.

Philbin says that she had not given Simmons and his friends any patient information in about six months.

Simmons was arraigned in court Wednesday, but he told 9NEWS Tuesday night in a jailhouse interview that he is innocent and has not committed identity theft.

He and Philbin were arrested by the Denver Police Fugitive Unit earlier this week.

Philbin was arrested on Monday night on charges of identity theft and was released on bond.

Simmons attempted to surrender to authorities on Monday night and went to the Denver City Jail. However, the Denver Sheriff's Department deputy at the jail told Simmons there was not a record of him being wanted in the computer and sent Simmons to check in with the Denver Police Department housed in a separate building across the courtyard at 1331 Cherokee St.

Denver Police say Simmons never turned himself in to Denver Police. He was arrested on Tuesday morning in Lakewood on charges of identity theft, forgery and using instruments of forgery.

St. Anthony Central is offering a free identity theft protection service to its patients involved in the thefts. The hospital has also put new audits in place to better monitor patient information. For more information, you can visit www.Centura.org.

The stolen documents were initially discovered after Brandon Michael won an auction for the contents of Simmons' abandoned storage unit. When Michael discovered what they were, he tried to bring them to Denver Police District 4, but an officer at the front desk told him the police didn't want them and to throw the documents away.

Michael then brought the documents to 9Wants to Know.

If you have any additional information about this story or want to report another story, please e-mail Deborah.Sherman@9NEWS.com.