Joan Mazzolini reports: The Cleveland Veterans Affairs hospital is investigating whether employees snooped in serial killing suspect Anthony Sowell’s private medical records. A spokeswoman for the Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center confirmed that an investigation was under way. It was unclear if it is an internal investigation or if federal VA authorities were called in….
CA: OB/GYN accused of patient ID theft for drugs
As a follow-up to a case previously mentioned on this site, Michelle Tuzee reports on the case of Dr. Lisa Michelle Barden, a physician who was arrested in January for stealing patients’ identities to support her drug habit. Barden is charged with 276 felonies, including identity theft, forgery, burglary and possession of controlled substances. Court…
ACORN Dumped Sensitive Documents as Probe Began – PI
Joseph Abrams reports: A private investigator says he found tens of thousands of sensitive documents dumped outside a California ACORN office just days after the state attorney general announced an inquiry into the community organizing group. Derrick Roach, a licensed investigator based in San Diego, told FoxNews.com he paid an impromptu visit to the city’s…
Multi-state debit card fraud linked to Hancock Fabrics – police
Linda McGlasson reports: Bank customers in California, Wisconsin and Missouri are reporting fraudulent ATM withdrawals that police say are tied to transactions conducted with the Hancock Fabrics retail chain. In California, Napa Police Department spokesman Brian McGovern says 60 residents reported their cards being used by thieves….. At about the same time, as many as…
Judge dismisses Andrew Speaker suit against CDC
Shelia M. Poole reports: A U.S. District Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention filed by an Atlanta lawyer who claimed the agency invaded his privacy. The lawsuit stemmed from a high-profile case involving Andrew Speaker, who alleged the federal agency divulged private medical information during a tuberculosis…
Former Johns Hopkins Hospital employee sentenced
The U. of Utah defendants were not the only hospital-breach defendants sentenced this week. Michelle Courtney Johnson, a former patient services coordinator at Johns Hopkins Hospital who was part of an ID theft ring with an employee of Crawford & Company was also sentenced this week. The Associated Press reports that Johnson was sentenced to…