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StumbleMan indicted in probe of UMC privacy leak
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 | 1:15 p.m.
Sun Archives
- Source may hold key in solving UMC patient data leak (3-8-2010)
- Another UMC breach surfaces with theft of computer hard drives (3-5-2010)
- UMC: Patient info leaks likely date back to July (1-25-2010)
- UMC faces criticism from within medical field (12-23-2009)
- UMC suspends 6 staff members pending investigation(12-11-2009)
- At UMC, audits show privacy lapses are not new(11-24-2009)
- FBI looking at UMC records leak(11-21-2009)
- Hospital privacy leak could harm patients(11-20-2009)
A man was indicted today by a federal grand jury in an alleged conspiracy to pay a University Medical Center employee for private information about traffic accident victims that was used to drum up clients.
The indictment is the outcome of an FBI probe that was launched in response to a Las Vegas Sun investigation that exposed the privacy breach at UMC.
Richard W. Charette, 54, of Las Vegas, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to illegally disclose personal health information, in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA, the United States Attorneys office said in a press release.
Between January and November 19, 2009 -- the day before the Sun's first story -- Charette allegedly conspired with people, including a UMC employee, to use hospital "face sheets" to solicit personal injury cases for attorneys.
The UMC employee faxed the registration sheets of trauma patients to Charette on at least 55 occasions and was paid about $8,000, the indictment said.
Charette could not be reached for comment.
The U.S. Attorney's press release said Charette has been summoned for a May 14 hearing. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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Any information on who this Charette guy is? A lawyer? A paralegal? A law firm employee? An independent contractor/broker like Awand?
From a previous Sun article:
"Hospital officials knew of rumors of the leaks since the summer, but doubted them until provided evidence Thursday (November 19, 2009) by the Sun. Now they're scrambling to catch up to a crisis that may affect hundreds, if not thousands, of patients.
Shoot that messenger.
Thank you for all of your excellent investigative work, Sun reporter Marshall Allen. Your tenacity and fearlessness should be rewarded--I think you should be a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize. All of a sudden, the Las Vegas Sun reads like the Los Angeles Times! Good...no, make that great work.
To CynicalObserver: I'll bet you $5 that Charette was working for the Medical Mafia.
Great reporting. Now, who was he working with at UMC? It is strange none of those names are mentioned, unless the authorities are trying to work out a deal with this guy for information.
Likely there will be more to come