Albany identity theft case comes to a close

Описание: A former Albany Medical Center nurse was sentenced in Albany County Court Tuesday. Suzette Guzman-Moore, 45, was sentenced to 4-12 years in prison. She also surrendered her nursing license and will have to pay about $2,000 in restitution.

The Albany County District Attorney's Office said Guzman-Moore and Emmett Woods, 25, stole about a dozen people's identities and used them to open credit cards. The DA's Office said some of the victims were patients at Albany Medical Center, where Guzman-Moore worked.

Woods was sentenced to 7 1/2 - 15 years in prison on Monday. He also has to pay about $2,000 in restitution.

Guzman-Moore wiped away tears Tuesday, as she told the judge that she feels regret.

"I apologize to the victims of my crime," she said in court. "As time goes on, I hope to regain the trust that I have so egregiously violated."

The Honorable Stephen Herrick told her that he recognizes she was truthful with investigators and that this was her first conviction, but he said that doesn't excuse what happened.

"You're the one that breached the trust of those people in your care," he said.

The judge called identity theft an under-rated crime that is happening all too often.

Albany County District Attorney David Soares agreed.

"Identity theft is a pervasive issue in Albany County," he said.

DA Soares said his office will invite lawmakers to meet. He wants to talk to them about taking action in the upcoming legislative session.

"What we want to say to our legislators is we need to strengthen the penalties here so that it is actually a deterrence for people," he said.

DA Soares said that Albany Medical Center had the proper safeguards in place to protect patients and their information, and this still happened. He said people need to be careful about information they put out online, need to shred personal information they throw away and keep an eye on financial information so they know if something strange pops up.