Two identity thieves involved in the South Miami Hospital breach noted previously on this blog have been sentenced. The breach had resulted in tax refund fraud for a number of the hospital’s patients.
The Sun Sentinel reports Alci Bonannee was sentenced to more than 26 years behind bars and Sonyini Clay was sentenced to 10 years in prison. They reportedly purchased patient information from an employee who was subsequently terminated. It is not clear to me at this time whether the employee, identified in other media sources as Betty Cole, has been prosecuted for her role.
As of today’s date, HHS’s investigation of the breach appears to still be open. Given all the patient data thefts at Florida hospitals for tax refund fraud schemes, I wonder if HHS will actually fine any of these hospitals for failing to adequately protect patient data or not having adequate internal controls in place to even detect the data theft.