Shands at UF patients may be at risk after an employee was accused of being linked to an identity theft ring.
Anyone who was a patient at Shands between March 2009 and October 2012 may have been a victim of identity theft, said Melissa Blouin, Shands director of news and publications.
The information is believed to have been taken from the Family Medicine at Main, and its 14,339 patients are being notified, Blouin said.
Jackelyn Barnard, director of communications at the Office of the State Attorney, said two suspects have been arrested, and if convicted, they can face up to 30 years in prison. The investigation is still active and other arrests are pending.
Arthur Thomas Jr., an active employee of the hospital, was arrested Tuesday on a charge of fraudulent use of personal identification information, according to a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office police report.
On Oct. 12, Thomas was stopped by a Jacksonville police officer for unlawful speeding and gave the officer permission to search his vehicle. Inside his car, officers found a black duffle bag that contained about 1,600 personal identities, as well as debit cards with names other than his.
That month, investigators learned that Thomas was selling the identities of Shands Hospital patients, according to the police report.
The other arrest was for Daremia Nikeka Crews, a former intern at Brentwood Primary Center, an affiliate with Shands at Jacksonville.
She was arrested for the same charge Jan. 23 in connection with identity thefts.
Crews was involved in a text conversation during which she sent hundreds of pictures of computer screens with a list of individuals’ names, dates of birth and social security numbers.
Shands was notified when the Office of the State Attorney, the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Secret Service conducted a statewide investigation that involved UF and Shands, among other places.
“We take patients’ privacy very seriously at UF&Shands, and we are very concerned that this happened,” Blouin said. “We are taking steps to make sure that it doesn’t happen again in the future.”
The university was informed of the alleged incident Oct. 25 and, Blouin said, state and federal law enforcement officials asked to not release information to patients until the investigation was finished.
Blouin said Shands notified patients by letter and is working with them to address their concerns.
“As for the future, we are always taking steps to improve the way we handle information and make sure we are keeping their information safe and private,” she said. “We let the people who work at UF and Shands know this has happened and we have asked people to be vigilant within their own areas to make sure they report any suspicious behavior or activity that might have to do with patient information so it can be appropriately investigated and addressed.”
