Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Health System patient records found in possession of ID thief

Linda Reilly reports:

An alleged swindler involved in a sophisticated identity-theft ring involving personal information copied from hospital records is facing multiple identity theft and theft charges, police said.

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Shacoy McNish, 27, of the 400 block of Millbank Road, Upper Darby, was arrested in late November after allegedly purchasing almost $3,000 worth of merchandise in two transactions from the Sears store, 69th Street.

“His name was listed as an authorized user for two women’s credit cards,” in the local Sears charges, police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said. “Both woman contacted revealed they did not own a Sears credit card. When we searched his car, we found 19 Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Health System medical records of different people listing their name, date of birth, address, Social Security number and parents’ names.

“We notified HUP security, called Citicorp and now the Secret Service is involved,” due to the quantity of records found. “There could be as many as 1,000 hospital files compromised. Apparently, he’s part of a much larger group responsible for $37,000 worth of merchandise purchased by mail in Illinois, Wisconsin, New York, New Jersey and Ohio.”