A former hospital clerk was sentenced to three years in prison for stealing patient information to defraud the government.
Matthew Lombardo pleaded guilty in September to using patient information in an attempt to steal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits, according to a July 21 Justice Department news release. In August 2020, he used his position as a patient service representative to access patient admission sheets and sent confidential information to his co-defendants to submit PUA claims to the California Employment Development Department. Text messages revealed they targeted vulnerable patients who "are on their way out."
Mr. Lombardo was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of using confidential health information for personal gain.