Pa. Police Say Ring Used Patients’ Stolen IDs

Nineteen people—and possibly as many as 1,000—who were patients at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Health System had their medical records stolen, with some of the information used to open fake credit card accounts, The Delaware County Daily Times reports.

Shacoy McNish, a 27-year-old resident of Upper Darby, west of Philadelphia, was arrested in late November after buying nearly $3,000 worth of merchandise during two transactions at a Sears store.

Police say McNish told the sales associate he was a registered user on the store credit-card accounts belonging to two women. He provided the Social Security numbers for both women.

Quick-thinking staffers at the store contacted the women, who said they had never owned a Sears card. After McNish’s arrest, police searched his car and on the back seat found 19 sets of medical records, which included the patients’ names, date of birth, address, Social Security information and their parents’ names, according to the newspaper.

Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said McNish had bought a total of about $40,000 worth of goods before he was caught. McNish faces 19 counts of identity theft and other charges. He’s being held until his arraignment Jan. 7.

Chitwood said there could be as many as 1,000 hospital files that were compromised. Because of the large number, the Secret Service is now involved. McNish may be part of a wider group behind $37,000 worth of fraudulent purchases made in Illinois, Wisconsin, New York, New Jersey and Ohio.

“This street critter is part of a complex organization,” Chitwood is quoted. “This is a sophisticated identity-theft ring. It looks like a hospital employee got all the information from the HUP records and gave the information out.”