Patient Unidentified 15 Years After Admitting Himself to Hospital With Stolen Healthcare ID
The deceased man, known only as “Golo,” may have used a stolen healthcare card due to being in Canada illegally.
On May 21, 2009, a man with lung cancer was admitted to the Foothills Hospital in Calgary, Canada. He gave them a name, birthdate, address, Alberta Health Care number, and social insurance number, and listed a friend as his emergency contact.
Sadly, the man lost his battle with cancer that same day. The hospital staff notified his friend, who paid for his burial at Queen’s Park Cemetery.
Nearly a year later, on April 20, 2010, the police were conducting a routine traffic stop in Calgary when something unusual happened. An officer ran one driver’s name through their computer, and to everyone’s surprise, he was listed as deceased.
The driver was taken to the arrest processing unit, where fingerprinting confirmed his identity. It was then that officials realized the lung cancer patient had committed identity theft and was buried under the wrong name.
The driver and the deceased had been acquaintances, having met gambling at casinos. At one point, the patient was at the other man’s house, which is when he likely stole the healthcare card.
