Deborah Petty Convicted in $44K Food Stamp ID Theft Scheme

Deborah Petty, 48, of Mesquite, Texas, was convicted yesterday on seven counts of identity theft and one count of aggravated identity theft following a three-day federal trial in Dallas. The jury delivered its verdict after hearing evidence that Petty stole hundreds of confidential patient files from a Nevada medical facility and used them to commit food stamp fraud in Florida, stealing over $44,000 in government benefits.

Petty worked at the Western Regional Center for Brain and Spine Surgery (WRCBSS) in Las Vegas from November 28, 2011, to June 29, 2012. In that role, she had authorized access to sensitive patient data—including names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. She signed documentation acknowledging her responsibility to protect this information. Instead, she hoarded patient records long after her employment ended, maintaining possession until at least May 2014.

During that period, Petty used the stolen identities to fraudulently apply for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in Florida. At least 110 individual victims from the Nevada clinic had benefits claimed in their names. The total loss to federal programs exceeds $44,000. Authorities say the scheme was methodical, exploiting gaps in inter-state verification systems to fly under the radar for years.

After leaving WRCBSS, Petty moved to Mesquite and landed a job at Epic Healthcare Services—where she again had access to patient data. She gained the position by misrepresenting her qualifications and concealing her prior employment history. This allowed her continued access to personal identifiers, raising fears that the full scope of her theft may not yet be known.

In May 2014, Mesquite police raided Petty’s apartment and seized approximately 1,500 stolen identities, many of them from her former employer. The cache included full patient dossiers, suggesting a warehouse of potential fraud. The discovery confirmed investigators’ suspicions: Petty wasn’t just skimming data—she was stockpiling it for future exploitation.

The case was jointly investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Mesquite Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kate Rumsey and P.J. Meitl led the prosecution. Petty now faces up to 15 years per count on the identity theft charges and a mandatory two-year sentence on the aggravated count, which must run consecutively. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled. Restitution and fines up to $250,000 per count may also be imposed.