U. of Florida: Employee Stole 15,000 Patients’ Records
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A former employee at the University of Florida (UF) Medical Clinic has been arrested for breaching the data of nearly 15,000 patients as part of an identity theft ring.
Arthur Thomas stole patient information from UF & Shands Family Medicine at Main from March 2009 and October 2012. Thomas sold the information, which included patients’ insurance information, names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers, to a third party, HealthITSecurity.com reports.
Although the university learned of the breach on Oct. 25, officials did not contact patients until the criminal investigation was completed per state law. UF send letters to 14,339 potential victims. Officials could not find the addresses for the remaining 450 victims.
Additionally, police arrested a second accomplice, Daremia Crews, who interned at Brentwood Primary Center, a Shands Hospital affiliate. She allegedly sold 261 identities to her ring source.
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