Former Chilton Medical Center Employee Sentenced for Theft of Computer Equipment
Sergiu Jitcu of Saddle Brook, NJ was a former IT employee of Chilton Medical Center in New Jersey. He was sentenced to a 5-years probation for stealing IT equipment from the medical center, some of which contained the protected health information (PHI) of patients.
Chilton Medical Center found out on October 31, 2017 that one of its hard drives had been sold on eBay after the buyer of the hard drive discovered the device contained the ePHI of Chilton Medical Center patients.
According to the investigation, the hard drive contained the PHI of 4,600 patients who received healthcare services at Chilton Medical Center between May 1, 2008 and October 15, 2017. The hard drive contained patient information such as names, birth dates, addresses, allergy details, medical record numbers, and prescribed medicines.
The theft was reported to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office and its Specialized Crime Division obtained a warrant was issued to search Jitcu’s home and vehicle. The investigators recovered computer equipment and other items which had been stolen from the medical center by Jitcu.
Jitcu plead guilty to one count of theft of computer equipment and one count of computer criminal activity. Those illegal activities occurred between January 1, 2015 and November 8, 2017.
In addition to five years’ probation, Jitcu is required to make regular restitution payments to the medical center totaling $64,250.
