Even more shocking: you may be among her 15 patients/ID theft victims. Dr. Lisa Barden admits she’s a drug addict and that she stole identities so she could fill 131 Vicodin and hydrocodone prescriptions at 43 different pharmacies in Southern California. The prescriptions were forged and signed with the names of five colleagues whose prescription pads she also stole.

The pharmacies’ video cameras captured images of Barden as she committed ID theft when presenting the prescriptions.

Barden admits she was addicted to the pain pills and that most days she took more than a dozen of them. A mother of three, she also says the drugs took a serious toll on her relationships with her kids.

Now, though, Barden says she’s been clean for eight months since her February arrest and would like to practice medicine again. But first she might have to trade in her white smock for a prison uniform if she’s convicted on the ID theft, forgery, burglary and drug possession charges.

“It’s fraud. She’s lied. She’s cheated,” said Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Jeanne Roy.

Barden agreed to enter a guilty plea on the drug charges. Roy is prosecuting Barden’s case and doesn’t plan to go easy on her just because she’s a doctor and expresses regret that her drug addiction led her to ID theft and other criminal action.

“I don’t excuse criminal behavior for that,” Roy said.

At least patient says she believes Barden was high when she performed her Cesarean section and left a cut more than two inches long on the right side of her newborn’s head.

Whether or not Barden practiced medicine while under the influence remains to be determined, but it seems unlikely she took more than 12 Vicodins but only after hours.

Charles Belim

Belim, 58, his wife, Jacqueline Belim, and other co-conspirators stole purses and wallets containing credit cards, photo ID and other personally identifying documents needed for ID theft. The identity thieves then donned glasses, scarves and other fashion accessories to fool bank workers into allowing them to withdraw money from the victims’ accounts.

In some cases, one member of the ID theft ring deposited worthless checks made out for thousands of dollars into the victims’ accounts. Before the deposited checks bounced, another of the ring members arrived at the bank in full costume and makeup and withdrew money from the fraudulently inflated account.

Jacqueline Belim

Carol Silva

Stolen wallets and purses are among the most common means of obtaining information for ID theft. Fed chairman Ben Bernanke’s wife, Anna Bernanke, became a victim of another pick pocketing and ID theft ring, Cannon to the Wiz, when they stole her purse from the back of her chair while she was in a D.C. area Starbucks last summer.

Yolanda Denise Scott, 31, worked in Wachovia Bank’s exceptions department and, in 2007, allegedly fed stolen account numbers, signature cards, routing numbers and personally identifying information to Schnikia Scruggs, 37. Scruggs, in turn, passed account information on to Germaine Monroe, 57, according to the indictment.

All three women are from the Atlanta metro area.

Scruggs, 37, is accused of using the stolen account information to electronically transfer thousands of dollars into her PayPal and bank accounts. The money was allegedly used to make online payments on utility bills and retail charge accounts.

Monroe allegedly received information from Scruggs that gave her access to at least one of the bank accounts. She also allegedly transferred money from the account into a PayPal account, and used the stolen funds to electronically pay bills.

Each of the defendants has been charged with one count of bank fraud conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.

Scott and Scruggs each face four counts aggravated identity, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years for each charge and must be served consecutively to a prison sentence for the conspiracy charge.

Monroe has been charged with two counts of aggravated identity theft.

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But, with yesterday’s arrest of Clark Mower, 58, Lesh’s long ordeal might be coming to an end.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Lesh, 66, said he’s known since the 1970s who had stolen his identity, but couldn’t get anyone to act on his complaints. He said he tried everyone from the IRS to the Mower’s own mother.

He’d gotten so tired and frustrated, Lesh joked that he considered taking a more direct route to resolution by hiring a hit man. He ruled that idea out, though, when he figured that with his luck, the hit man would kill the real Tom Lesh.

Mower was arrested in Seattle and charged in federal court with aggravated identity theft, Social Security number misuse and unlawful production of an ID.

Lesh said he feels like he’s been released from prison, and is so relieved that he could kiss the special agent who handled it.

Identity theft victims survey for the Identity Theft Resource Center spent an average of 58 hours repairing damage if the ID theft involved an existing account. If new accounts were opened using the ID theft victim’s information, the average hours rose to 165.

Like in Lesh’s case, 16.7% of the ITRC survey respondents who said they had successfully cleared their names reported spending more than five years at it.

The unnamed victim became aware of the identity theft in January when a credit card company called to ask when she planned to make a payment on the $15,398 balance she was carrying on her credit card.

Sure enough, the card was linked to her name and Social Security number, but the address for the card was that of Studnicka, her former daughter-in-law.

The victim contacted law enforcement, and reported the identity theft, adding that Studnicka had a history of similar crimes.

She then requested a copy of her credit report and learned of another $90,000 in fraudulent charges, most of it student loans accrued between October 2006 and October 2008. In total, 11 student loans and two credit cards had been taken out in the woman’s name.

The case was strengthened by a convenience check in the amount of $10,000 made out to, and endorsed by Studnicka.

According to the complaint, Studnicka acknowledged the accounts, when she was contacted by Waseca Detective James Armendariz; she said she knew he was calling about “loans and stuff.”

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To know for sure I’d have to survey Shanell Angelia Bowser’s 89 identity theft victims.

Bowser, 30, used to be an insurance claims clerk with a medical claims adjuster in Baltimore–a job that gave her easy access to names, addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers and more. Last week she admitted to stealing personal information of insurance claimants to open 125 new credit card accounts and withdraw money from ATM machines.

With the $174,000 of stolen money and credit, Bowser and her accomplices bought clothing and electronics and paid for things like cell phones, landline phones, Internet service and cable or satellite television service.

Bowser will be sentenced in September and could get a 30-year prison sentence and a $1 million fine for conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Each aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory two-year sentence that must be served consecutively.

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Organize identity thieves according to how appalling their crimes are, and Ben Achampong ranks right up at the top.

Achampong was arrested last week and accused of stealing $20,000 using the identities of two deceased men who had been residents at Community Mainstreaming Associates, a Glen Cove facility for adults with Down Syndrome and Alzheimer Disease.

Achampong’s position as facility manager at the complex gave him access to residents’ names, Social Security numbers, birthdates and financial information.

According to Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, Achampong used that information to clean out the bank account of a resident who died in June 2008. He then used the money to pay his rent, car insurance, credit card and cell phone bills.

In February 2009, he used the same man’s name to obtain a debit card.

He’s also accused of filing fraudulent tax returns using the information of another deceased resident.

“Mr. Achampong’s exploitation of a deceased person under his care is ghastly,” Rice said.

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What these folks have in common—besides being sleazy, lowlife identity thieves—is that they were all in positions of trust. I mean, who worries that their dad, their grandpa, their bank teller, or the nice lady who gives the flu shots would steal their identities?

Story One: Paul Kelly, a former district attorney in Wisconsin, was convicted yesterday on 35 counts fraud, forgery and identity theft for stealing the identities of his adult daughter and then-8-year-old grandson. He bought a car, a van and a house with his daughter identity … then did her the huge favor of filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy … in her name, of course.

Despite Kelly’s best efforts, his grandson got off a little easier. Kelly used the kid’s Social Security number on the application for a $56,000 loan. Kelly said his grandson was a 25-year-old construction worker—and he had the manufactured W-2s and employment records to prove it. He even brought a grown guy to the bank to pose as his grandson.

Story Two: Jeffrey Gautreaux was indicted on 17 counts of bank fraud, one count of access devise fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

The former Bank of America teller stole Boston-area bank customers’ identities and withdrew more than $334,000 from their accounts, according to the indictment. He even sold off some of the information to other lowlifes.

Story Three: Jameelah Josiah’s job as a temp with the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department in West Virginia gave her access to the personal information of more than 11,000 people who received flu shots.

Josiah admitted in court last week that between October and December 2008, she used some of the information to buy more than $4,000 of goodies.

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Watson, of Albuquerque NM, seems to have been the ringleader of the identity theft ring and was indicted on 79 counts of identity theft.

Police found stolen credit cards belonging to 31 other people when they searched Bates’ home last summer. Bates said she got the credit cards from Sanchez. They also found photocopies of 62 checks written to a gas station where Bates used to work. Bates used the check information to steal roughly $83,000 from the victims’ checking accounts.

Police also found stolen mail, and on Bates’ computers they found evidence that she was also printing fraudulent checks and driver’s licenses. As a bonus, they discovered all the material needed for manufacturing methamphetamine when they searched the shed behind her house.

Bates faces three counts of altering, forging or making a fictitious license and one count each of dealing in credit cards of another and conspiracy to commit identity theft.

Sanchez was charged with fraudulently signing credit cards and conspiracy to commit forgery. Toscano was charged with identity theft. Watson was charged with ID theft and conspiracy to commit forgery.

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Among them are the 150 or so people whose names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers were found on a list in Saeed Cousar’s home. And, among that 150 are some really unfortunate folks whose credit histories were also found with the list. (I’ll bet the members of that last bunch really wish they had LifeLock.)

From the beginning: A New Jersey man filed a complaint with police saying his credit card was compromised … to the tune of $50,000. Among the fraudulent purchases was a 2009 Ford Mustang.

The Denville, N.J. police worked on the investigation along with the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, Jersey City Police, Jefferson police and the U.S. Post Office inspector service.

Cousar was already in jail when he was charged with the arrest warrant for that crime, after the Denville police searched his home.

Besides the list and credit histories, police found fraudulently obtained credit cards, and a computer and other equipment and materials used to make fake credit cards and checks.

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