TAMPA, Fla. — It's the last place you would think someone would steal your credit card, a children’s hospital.
One mother is warning parents not to let their guard down even when they’re in a vulnerable situation.
"It’s heartbreaking that anyone would do this at all," said Jane Muino, who spends lots of time at a children's hospital.
"But secondly it's heartbreaking to think that someone would take advantage of someone in this situation, in a children’s hospital," said Muino.
Jane Muino’s son Charlie suffers from cerebral palsy. She was at John Hopkin's All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg in February dealing with paperwork.
"On my way out I went to get gas and noticed that my wallet was missing," said Muino.
She called the hospital who said someone turned in her wallet. She went back, checked through it and thought everything was there, but when she got home she realized a card was missing.
"I thought I better call Chase because I couldn’t find the card and that’s when I realized there had been purchases made starting at 3:00 that afternoon and I had left the facility at 2 p.m," said Muino.
A spree of purchases was made totaling hundreds of dollars, starting at All Children’s, then gas stations, a liquor store and going all the way up to Walmart in Spring Hill. That’s where a woman was caught on camera using the card.
"Already having your plate overflow and then to have someone literally steal and use your card as if they weren’t doing anything wrong; that is the part I truly don’t understand," said Muino.
Deputies say they've identified the suspect and are close to making an arrest.
"I thank the Hernando Sheriff’s Office for taking it seriously, for listening to me," said Muino.
Muino says she hopes others are able to learn from her story and be more aware of their surroundings, even at a children's hospital.
