Emory Healthcare, the covered entity (CE), reported that one of its employees impermissibly accessed the protected health information (PHI) of 1,891 individuals for the purposes of committing identity theft in an unemployment benefits fraud scheme. The PHI involved included names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. The CE cooperated with a related investigation into the broader scheme conducted by the US Department of Labor and Department of Justice, which ultimately resulted in the employee pleading guilty for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The CE notified HHS, affected individuals, the media, and posted substitute notice on its website. In its mitigation efforts, the CE sanctioned the employee and provided complimentary identity protection and credit monitoring services to affected individuals.
