Search Privacy Violations, Breaches and Complaints
This database was last updated in December 2015 ago and should only be used as a historical snapshot. More recent data on breaches affecting 500 or more people is available at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Breach Portal.
VA Sunshine Healthcare Network (VISN 8)
Mentioned in a privacy incident report created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on October 5, 2011. Also cited in 369 other reports.
Report ID: SPE000000067477, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Reported Entity: VISN 08 Miami, FL
Issue:
A VA employee was investigated by VA Office of Inspector General (OIG), Secret Service, and US Postal Inspection Service for allegedly selling of Veterans' identities. When questioned by the inspectors, the employee admitted to selling over 3,000 VA identities over a period of 6 years. The Privacy Officer (PO) is unable to determine who the Veterans are, but OIG is working on compiling a list. Update: 10/07/11: The OIG has been investigating this employee for quite some time now. They were in the Hospital under cover and purchased identifications from the employee. The employee has been arrested and the OIG has advised the PO to stand down since they are taking over the case. The OIG is still investigating since they believe there were other people involved. The employee was a clerk and worked in clinics as well as other parts of the Hospital. They obtained the information from CPRS and did have a need to access patient data in CPRS based on their job duties. It is not known what information the employee took since all of this information is in the custody of the OIG. 10/21/11: The current numbers for this incident are 272 letters offering credit protection services and seven (7) next-of-kin notifications. 11/08/11: Letter templates were approved by OIT and OGC, then sent to the facility. Facility mailed letters to the current list of affected individuals on 11/08/11. 01/31/12: Per the OIG, there are no additional Veteran victims to report. 03/02/12: This is still an open OIG investigation. This has not been reporteed to HHS because of the active investigation. 07/10/12: According to the OIG the Investigation is complete The VA employee pled guilty and was sentenced.
Outcome:
The investigation is completed and the letters were mailed on 11/08/11.