Shannon Smith, 47, finds herself in custody after the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) arrested her for purportedly committing identity theft and medical fraud to the tune of approximately half a million dollars. As reported by FOX 10 Phoenix, since September 2022, Smith has been implicated in multiple cases, with MCSO providing details of her arrest on July 22. Smith confessed to fraudulently receiving medical services under another person’s identity, according to MCSO, racking up substantial bills that were unjustly charged to the victim.
The victim at the heart of this fraud, Jennifer O'Connor, bore the brunt of the financial assault with a barrage of medical statements. One such bill amounted to a staggering $26,500 from Banner Health. O'Connor's fight against this onslaught has been relentless, with claims amounting to nearly $500,000; as O'Connor told 12 News, "I’m still getting bills. I don’t think this is ever going away."
Investigations by MCSO revealed that the fraudulent medical services stem from personal information leaked by O'Connor's ex-husband to Smith. This connection led to Smith applying for state Medicaid under O'Connor's name using a phone number traced back to O'Connor's former spouse. O'Connor's dismay was palpable as she reflected on the betrayal: "I wouldn’t think that my ex-husband would have done that with her," she stated in a 12 News interview, "Shame on them both." While Smith has been charged, the ex-husband remains currently uncharged, but MCSO's sergeant Joaquin Enriquez suggested that future charges are a possibility.
Fraudulent medical care wasn't the sole extent of Smith's alleged identity theft activities. She's also accused of sharing O'Connor's identity with the police in Phoenix and Peoria. Recovering from the labyrinth of legal tangles and financial hazards will be arduous for O'Connor, but it's the potential for catastrophic medical blunders that looms largest. “What scares me is they got her blood type in my medical record now so if anything, God forbid, happens to me they give me the wrong blood, I’m dead," O'Connor confided to 12 News.
