Charges: Woman Stole, Sold Northfield Hospital Computers

A contract IT employee for the is accused of stealing five computers and selling them, according to criminal charges filed in Dakota County District Court.

Traci Lynn Cook, 36, of Kenyon, is charged with felony theft and faces up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted.

An employee of the hospital told in September that she had purchased a laptop computer from Cook for $300. After comparing serial numbers, it was determined the computer was property of the hospital.

Cook, who had been a contract employee with the hospital since 2003, was responsible for fixing computers, according to the complaint. There isn't a tracking system for the computers that were sent to Cook for repair.

Police interviewed Cook a few days later and she admitted she had refurbished the laptop and sold it to the hospital employee, the complaint says. Cook also said she had pawned four other laptops and a computer monitor in Burnsville and Faribault.

Cook told police she stole the laptops because "it was retired equipment, her wages were being garnished, she was on the verge of being evicted, and the laptops were just going to be recycled, so she fixed them up and sold them."

According to hospital records, three of the laptops stolen were still in active use, while two were "retired," the complaint says. The value of the stolen computers and monitor exceeded $1,000.

Cook pleaded guilty to theft by check twice in 1998 and once in 2000 in Rice County, according to Minnesota Court records.

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