Perla Serrano, Homeless Man, Allegedly Posed As a Woman For Medical Care

Perla Serrano

A homeless man in California is accused of stealing a woman's identity for 13 years and racking up more than $100,000 in medical care expenses.

Police in San Clemente say they found Perla Serrano -- who appeared to be a woman -- sleeping Sunday in a public area. But a deputy noted a hospital wristband with a different name than the one the person gave. Soon, the 51-year-old suspect's gender became in doubt, according to ABCNews.com.

“The deputy called San Clemente Hospital and was informed by San Clemente personnel that the person was actually a man, not a woman,” Orange County Sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino told ABC.

The victim, who is only being named as "Perla K," has apparently suffered a long ordeal because of the alleged identity theft.

"It's been a nightmare for 13 years," Amormino told Mission Viejo Patch.

The victim has had to go to court several times to straighten out various arrest warrants for various infractions.

Serrano now faces two felony counts, each of unauthorized use of personal identifying information and false impersonation, as well as single felony counts each of second-degree burglary and grand theft, Patch reports.

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Comments

[Gigi1217]

04:29 PM on 03/20/2012

I think this shows how bad our healthcare system is in two way: 1. the fact that some had to steal someone's identity just to obtain healthcare

2. no one caught on to this much earlier

[nicko68]

10:14 AM on 03/20/2012

Next thing you know, he'll want free Birth Control Pills.

[Hontas Farmer]

10:12 PM on 03/19/2012

No excuses for what she did. I volunteer at a LGBT health center here in Chicago. Finding appropriate healthcare is 2x as hard for transgender women of color. For financial reasons yes, but also because once the secret is out you become a freaky specimen to the staff.

Why did Perla steal a woman's id? Yes, stealing Money was part of it. She will be put on trial and probably convicted. The reason she stole that identity was that with it a trip to the hospital for a sprained ankle, or some blood work would not result in 1/2 dozen insulting questions about her crotch.

Do you know why the self appointed leaders of the transgender community dont speak to violations of Serrano's civil rights? I suspect part of the reason is a strange sort of jealousy. They spend $$$ on cosmetic surgery to get this.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/facial-feminization-surgery-life-women-men/story?id=15918733#.T2fhyRE6slA

Perla Serrano had no known surgery and look at her.

[Mausinn]

03:23 PM on 03/19/2012

It is really a sad thing when people have to resort to fraud to get basic medical care in America, one of the richest nations on earth. How is it that we have come to this point in our history, when we, as a nation, can sit back and watch our fellow humans suffer without health care? I hear all kinds of people tossing out Christian rhetoric about being so Christian in their ways, and then reject their fellow human when they need care to stay alive. They would rather they died and didn't bother them. God forbid we have Universal Health Care and take care of our fellow man, that would be compassionate. You know the word, the Christians are always claiming they embody the term. Isn't it time to put our money where our mouth is, if not, at least our hearts?

[Becca Lester]

05:57 PM on 03/19/2012

Unfortunately, "Christianity" for a lot of people is a word with a fluid definition, that changes to best meet their selfish needs.

[jel3800]

06:27 PM on 03/19/2012

hospitals treat all people that come in to ER. no insurance necessary. just walk in.
the expenses are rolled into operating costs which are calculated into bill rates for insured/paying customers. ultimately insurence companies pay, then pass it along in premiums
its all paid in the same way--no one is denied

[diabalos76]

08:16 PM on 03/19/2012

There are many conditions the ER won't help with. No MRI's for knee injuries (that prove to be meniscus tears), no colonoscopy for the patient with months of gut pains (that prove to be colon cancer) and nothing in the way of ANY type of dentistry (just a nice bottle of painkillers to get you addicted on after 30 days of usage), to name a few. Later, he/she will get issued a bench warrant for failure to appear to pay for those bills even though they have no home to send those said letters to. Nah, seen that too many times now. Sometimes you really are on your own with no resort other then something like this and really, that IS the crime

[Mausinn]

02:08 AM on 03/20/2012

Hospitals are required to only stabilize the patient. The hospital where I live stabilizes the patient and then ships them off to a county hospital if they have no insurance. So much for compassion and community caring. There are a couple of law suits pending right now involving the patient passing away because they shipped them off before making sure they were stable. It's all about the bottom line with medical care now. Eliminate that factor, and maybe we can get some quality care for everyone equally.

[RML 1]

03:05 PM on 03/19/2012

As in the FB comments... It is the Dr's fault for not realizing this man wasn't a women. After dealing with Lyme Disease I have absolutely no doubt that these Dr's royally screwed up, but they alone could have prevented this from going on as long as it did. It just goes to show that most DR's don't even pay attention. Men have adam's apples, was he wearing a turtleneck everytime? I think not.

[venturamickey]

12:57 PM on 03/19/2012

The good news is that they gave him a hysterectomy and it was successful. Only problem is when he now gets arroused he cant decide who gets on top.

[Mausinn]

03:08 PM on 03/19/2012

Your bio reveals a falsehood. Your comment doesn't seem like one from a person either saved or full of grace.

[diabalos76]

08:18 PM on 03/19/2012

Truer words never spoken

[maya1]

10:37 AM on 03/19/2012

My guess is he did not go for a gynecological checkup

[splenetic]

05:11 AM on 03/19/2012

I may be wrong, but Medicaid is not available to adult males, is it?. I suppose if one is a homeless adult male, you're choices are impersonate a woman or die. (I don't think Food Stamps are available to adult males without children, either.)

[splenetic]

05:18 AM on 03/19/2012

... YOUR choices are ... :oP

[mdipary2004]

07:44 AM on 03/19/2012

excellent post splenetic. You are correct. Men are not entittled to the same privileges as females.

[sadwitness]

04:29 PM on 03/19/2012

I'd love to hear what those privileges are, since I'm a woman and have never received a damn thing that I did not provide for myself. I work with homeless in California and neither males nor female homeless adults receive medical care for free or even cheaply- so I guess I need to know where all these privileges are. Please respond quickly, I work with people everyday that could use the info and some help.

[dead55]

01:41 AM on 03/19/2012

I am just an old 18D but what board certified doctors misdiagnosed this person for 13 years? Just another example of how the system is full of fraud, waste and abuse.

[splenetic]

05:16 AM on 03/19/2012

He must not have needed too much medical care to "rack up" just $100,000 in medical bills over a 13 year period. What's that, a week in the hospital?

[Mausinn]

03:13 PM on 03/19/2012

I see nowhere in this article, or the one on ABC, as to this person being misdiagnosed at all. In fact, they were the ones who told them they were dealing with a male and not a female. It isn't illegal, yet, to be one gender and pretend to be another. The issue here was the persons fraud pertaining to the medical bills.

[Joster GG]

11:12 PM on 03/18/2012

If you are poor or down and out it's hard to get any medical care in the USA. It's even harder if you aren't RICH period and that's the way RWers...especially RW Christians want it.

[Lon Calhoun]

01:09 AM on 03/19/2012

The guy should have gotten a job. The person who had their credit destroyed because of this fool is the real victim. Of course im sure that does not bother you.

[Rubberfish]

01:36 AM on 03/19/2012

Who will hire you if you are homeless?

[Joster GG]

01:22 PM on 03/19/2012

Not all jobs carry healthcare insurance. And some of the ones who do the healthcare doesnt' kick in for six months. And jobs are hard to get right now.

[Truwriter]

08:37 AM on 03/19/2012

Nice rant but in fact most of the free health care, inner city clinics, shelters and soup kitchens are operated by those Christians you are conditioned to hate. I know that reality is not part of political cultism but its easy to research and find how many church based hospitals there are in the US and the clinics. The only non church based inner city health care is funded by donations from those rich folks you also have mimed up to hate. Political cultism is the same as fanatical religious cultism. In fact lots of people do a great deal to help others. Well, though I cannot think of any OWS clinics or surgeries, or environmentalists who supply health care or any service to the poor. Here is a good example for you to see how uninformed you are...the Salvation Army is a Christian based church and service to the poor.

[ellenpenway]

10:58 AM on 03/19/2012

Sorry My dear, you are the one that's misinformed and obviously have not dealt with trying to get medical care when you are poor or you would not be making such statements. I want waste time trying to change your opinion, but I would like to say many of the so-called religious based hospitals are the worst when it comes to helping the poor. You try to work out payments arrangements with them and they are hell to deal with. If you have any kind of credit score kiss it good bye and will take you to court, put liens on your credit report even when trying to pay them what you can. Religous hospital are some of the worst, and yes there might be some exceptions out there but few to say the least!

[Joster GG]

01:21 PM on 03/19/2012

O for sure some pple get a little help here and there. But why should anyone have to go begging to some Religious organization for medical help? Why not just have Universal HC like most DECENT countris have?
Right now..I got a really bad knee. I know I am going to need replacement that will cost about 60 or 70 thousand dollars. I'm on medicare (another program a lot of RWers want to do away with) So I will get help.

However if I was homeless who would take care of my knee? Does the Salvation Army pay for knee replacements? Hip Replacements? Cancer?

[ActaNonVerbaNow]

11:11 PM on 03/18/2012

The only interest I have of this story is, "Why do we live in a country where a man can get better medical care by pretending to be a woman?"

[spydrworks1067]

01:21 AM on 03/19/2012

Who said that was the case? He placed his bills on somebody else. I would question more of how he thwarted doctors for 13 years with a female ID for medical and not realize she is a he. What kind of emergencies were these for doctors not to check?

[ActaNonVerbaNow]

02:13 AM on 03/19/2012

I stand corrected. It does to be a case of general identity theft. The headline is a bit misleading and got me on the wrong track. The headline, "Posed As a Woman for Medical Care". That's misleading. He posed as a woman because that's whose identity he stole (and I guess because it provides a disguise), not for the medical care itself.

[aries932]

10:52 PM on 03/18/2012

he's better looking than some of the Bronx females I used to date

[Brianna Cole]

09:31 AM on 03/19/2012

Does that say more about the quality of women in the Bronx, or your standards....

[ravennightfall31]

09:02 PM on 03/18/2012

"Cough please..."

[splenetic]

05:30 AM on 03/19/2012

My doctor drags that out way too long. But, considering the bill, I should get something extra.

[rhnconsult]

08:37 PM on 03/18/2012

Pretty funny. My wife used to complain that if she went to the doc with hay fever or a headache she was told to drop her drawers. Times must have changed.

[Hontas Farmer]

08:12 PM on 03/18/2012

This news report makes it clear the Perla identifies as a woman and did right to the point of being put into the male jail. I hope that the media will let us know how this all works out for her victim and her.

http://www.39online.com/videogallery/68846893/News/VIDEO-Man-Assumes-Female-Victim-s-Identity-watch-Chip-Yost-s-report