Former Employee Pleads to OHH Theft

An Iowa Park woman has been convicted of stealing more than $90,000 from Olney Hamilton Hospital over several years by billing for sleep studies that were never performed.

Angela Denise Lynn, 49, pleaded guilty in Young County District Court to theft of property valued between $30,000 and $150,000, a third-degree felony.

As part of a plea agreement with the Young County District Attorney’s Office, Ms. Lynn was sentenced to 10 years of deferred-adjudication probation. If she violates the terms of her probation, she could face up to 10 years in prison.

District Attorney Dee Peavy said Ms. Lynn’s conviction ensures she is held accountable for her actions. “It was important to the judge and to our office that we got this conviction on her record,” Peavy said. “Future employers need to be aware of her criminal conduct.”

Assistant District Attorney Jamie Petruzzi said Ms. Lynn must pay back $92,000 in restitution to the hospital, along with court costs and other fees. Additionally, the judge ordered Ms. Lynn to serve a 60-day jail sentence, which she will complete on weekends to allow her to maintain employment and make restitution payments.

The theft occurred between February 2019 and December 2023 while Ms. Lynn was working as a contracted employee at Olney Hamilton Hospital, the prosecutors said. She was hired as a registered polysomnographic technologist to perform sleep studies, but prosecutors said she falsified invoices for procedures that never occurred and pocketed the money.

The hospital discovered the theft in early 2024, Mrs. Peavy said. By then, the statute of limitations had expired on some of the fraudulent invoices, preventing prosecutors from pursuing charges for the full scope of the theft.

“She had been doing it for several years,” Mrs. Peavy said. “Unfortunately, we could only move forward on the thefts that occurred within the statute of limitations, but even so, the loss to the hospital was significant.”

As part of her probation, Ms. Lynn must adhere to strict conditions, including curfew requirements, maintaining steady employment, and remaining within Young County unless granted permission to travel. In court, it was disclosed that Ms. Lynn is working at a hospital in Electra.