United States Attorney Kevin V. Ryan
Northern District of California

11th Floor, Federal Building
450 Golden Gate Avenue, Box 36055
San Francisco, California 94102-3495

CONTACT:  Luke Macaulay 
 Luke.Macaulay@usdoj.gov

(415) 436-6757

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 2006

FORMER MANAGER AT SAN JOSE MEDICAL GROUP INDICTED FOR STEALING SENSITIVE MEDICAL AND PERSONAL INFORMATION OF 200,000 SOUTH BAY RESIDENTS

SAN JOSE – United States Attorney Kevin V. Ryan announced that a federal grand jury has indicted Joseph Nathaniel Harris, 43, of San Jose, California, charging him with stealing computer equipment from the San Jose Medical Group, including a DVD with sensitive medical and personal information concerning approximately 200,000 patients in the San Jose area. This indictment is the result of an investigation by agents of the FBI.

The indictment and a criminal complaint affidavit filed separately with the court allege the following:

Mr. Harris was branch manager at the San Jose Medical Group, a medical services organization that includes hundreds of affiliated physicians in the South Bay. Harris was asked to resign, and did so in the fall of 2004. On March 28, 2005, employees discovered computer equipment missing from the San Jose Medical Group administrative office, including a DVD with clinic visit entries for about 200,000 patients. The DVD included patients’ names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, social security numbers, diagnoses, medical procedures, and other information. Special Agents with the FBI interviewed Mr. Harris and subsequently found the DVD in his car.

Agents arrested Mr. Harris on January 3, 2006 on a criminal complaint. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia V. Trumbull that day, and was released on a $25,000 bond. Mr. Harris was indicted late yesterday. His next scheduled court appearance is January 23, 2006 at 11:00 a.m. before Judge Trumbull.

The indictment charges Mr. Harris with one count of theft in connection with health care, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 669. The maximum statutory penalty for this count is 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and restitution. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

An indictment contains only allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, Mr. Harris must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Assistant United States Attorney Matthew A. Lamberti is prosecuting the case, with the assistance of Susan Kreider. The prosecution is the result of a nine-month investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Further Information:

A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.

Electronic court filings and further procedural and docket information are available at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

Judges’ calendars with schedules for upcoming court hearings can be viewed on the court’s website at www.cand.uscourts.gov.

All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney’s Office should be directed to Luke Macaulay at (415) 436-6757 or by email at Luke.Macaulay@usdoj.gov.