Here’s a follow-up on a breach previously reported. Today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports:
Paul C. Pepala, 35, of Monroeville, was sentenced Thursday to one year of probation for disclosing to others information from the files of 19 UPMC Shadyside patients.
Mr. Pepala, a Zambian man who is a permanent resident of the U.S., was working as a surgical instrument technician at the hospital in 2008. He took patient names, birth dates, and Social Security numbers and gave them to compatriots who used them to file fake tax returns and claim $84,190 in refunds.
Mr. Pepala has said he was intimidated into performing the crime by the other men, who have apparently returned to Zambia.
U.S. Judge Maurice B. Cohill imposed the sentence.
A year’s probation? That’s all? What message does that send?