FORMER
MANAGER AT SAN JOSE MEDICAL GROUP PLEADS GUILTY TO STEALING SENSITIVE
MEDICAL AND PERSONAL INFORMATION OF 200,000 SOUTH BAY RESIDENTS
SAN JOSE - United
States Attorney Scott N. Schools announced that Joseph Nathaniel Harris,
44, now living in Riverside, California, pled guilty yesterday to stealing
computer equipment in March 2005 from the San Jose Medical Group, including
a DVD with sensitive medical and personal information for almost 200,000
patients in the San Jose area. FBI agents recovered the DVD from Harris'
car in April 2005.
According to a criminal
complaint affidavit and indictment filed earlier with the court as well
as Harris' guilty plea today, 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 left the San Jose Medical
Group in September 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 almost 200,000 patients.
The DVD included patients' names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth,
social security numbers, diagnoses, medical procedures, and other information.
Harris kept the DVD but sold the computer equipment. FBI agents found
the DVD in Harris' car.
The indictment charges
Mr. Harris with one count of theft in connection with health care, in
violation of 18 U.S.C.§ 669. Today, before United States District
Court Judge Jeremy Fogel, Harris pled guilty to this charge, admitting
that he stole computer equipment from the San Jose Medical Group, including
the DVD.
Judge Fogel has scheduled
sentencing for Harris for September 5, 2007. The maximum statutory penalty
for this count is 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or twice the gain
or loss resulting from the theft (whichever is greater), three years supervised
release, 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.
Assistant United
States Attorney Matthew A. Lamberti is prosecuting the case, with the
assistance of legal assistant Susan Kreider. The prosecution is the result
of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Further Information:
Case #: CR 06-00038 JF
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 Natalya LaBauve at
(415) 436-7055 or by email at Natalya.LaBauve@usdoj.gov
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