Former NY Hospital Employee Charged with Exposing Data on 12,500 Patients

The Montefiore Health System was unaware of the breach until May 15, when law enforcement authorities informed the hospital about a potential theft. A forensics analysis revealed Monique Walker, 32, an assistant clerk at Montefiore, had allegedly accessed information without authorization and sold it for as little as $3 per record. She has now been fired. 

Montefiore has a reputation for its significant investment in technology and analytics. Asked if this breach could damage that reputation, hospital officials emphasized this incident was the work of a criminal.

The hospital was notifying affected patients on June 19. 

Walker allegedly stole patient names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, next of kin information and health insurance details.

While she continued working at Montefiore after the breach, there is no evidence of criminal behavior after June 2013.

According to the New York Times, Walker printed patients’ records on a near daily basis. Accomplices used the stolen information to make purchases at stores like Barneys New York, Macy’s, Victoria’s Secret, Bergdorf Goodman and Lord & Taylor. The purchases were worth at least $50,000, and were made with store credit and gift cards.