A parent shared a child’s medical records for a referral to another hospital. Investigators say a South Florida woman altered those records and used them to collect money through her own accident insurance policy.
Jazmine Nicole Rhodes, 36, is accused of collecting $18,520 through claims involving her son and records belonging to three other children. The three children’s parents told investigators they had not authorized the use of their children’s medical information to support those claims.
The Florida Department of Financial Services announced the case on November 5. Rhodes was taken into custody at the Broward County Main Jail on October 21.
The sworn affidavit describes insurance submissions and payments in 2023 and 2024, with Securian Financial paying the claims. Rhodes faces seven felony counts, and her attorney filed a written not-guilty plea and jury-trial demand on November 6.
Investigators Detail $18,220 in Payments Linked to Three Children’s Records
The parent who supplied records for the hospital referral told a detective she was not involved in any scheme to defraud Securian. According to the affidavit, Rhodes admitted changing the identifying information and font in that child’s Broward Health records and using them to support a broken-arm claim. Securian paid $2,130 on April 5, 2024.
Investigators described another claim involving a screenshot of a different child’s medical records that Rhodes said she obtained without the mother’s knowledge. They say she substituted her son’s name on records from Jackson Health System and a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue invoice to support a claim that he had fractured his right femur. Securian paid $9,630 on November 22, 2023.
A third child’s parent told investigators they had neither supplied the medical records nor permitted their use in an insurance claim. Those documents came from Memorial Regional Hospital, Memorial Hospital West and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital and were used to support a claim involving a broken left arm. The affidavit says Rhodes replaced identifying information in the records and received $6,460 on August 2, 2024.
The three payments totaled $18,220, and the affidavit identifies another $300 overpayment from a claim using her son’s information. It also describes a broken-nose claim for her son in which Rhodes allegedly altered medical paperwork to portray a chronic nasal condition as a sudden injury covered by the accident policy.
Investigators Say a 2019 Crash Report Backed a False Broken-Leg Claim
In a separate request, Rhodes allegedly sought $11,790 for a fractured left tibial plateau, an injury near the knee. The affidavit says she changed a Florida Highway Patrol report and replaced another patient’s name, date of birth and address on medical records from Doctors Hospital with her own information. That request was an attempted reimbursement, separate from the $18,520 investigators say Securian had already paid.
The trooper who prepared the original crash report told investigators Rhodes had not been a driver or passenger in the March 29, 2019, accident. He also said he had not altered the report or authorized anyone else to do so, according to the affidavit.
Seven Charges Followed, and Rhodes Entered a Not-Guilty Plea
Broward County court records list five counts of criminal use of personal identification information, one grand-theft count and one insurance-fraud count. Six are second-degree felonies; the remaining identity-information count is a third-degree felony.
Investigators wrote that Rhodes admitted making fraudulent claims during a sworn interview. Defense attorney Joshua D. Rydell filed her written not-guilty plea on November 6, demanded a jury trial and requested evidence from prosecutors.
The November 6 court docket lists the case as active before Broward County Circuit Judge Francis Viamontes, with an arraignment scheduled for November 9. Rhodes is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
What Parents Can Do if Their Child’s Medical Records Are Misused
Suspected insurance fraud in Florida can be reported to the Department of Financial Services through its online reporting system or by calling 1-800-378-0445.
Parents who believe a hospital, health insurer or other organization covered by HIPAA improperly disclosed medical information can also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. The allegations against Rhodes do not, by themselves, establish that a hospital violated HIPAA.