Two Defendants Plead Guilty To Fraud Scheme Involving Data Stolen From Hospital Patients

On August 7, 2025, two individuals pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud after using names, Social Security numbers, and other PII—much of which was impermissibly accessed by a former Montefiore Medical Center clerk—to fraudulently obtain COVID-19 stimulus checks, tax refunds, and unemployment benefits; the scheme involved PHI exposure of 4,004 patients, resulted in almost $1 million in actual losses, and the defendants face forfeiture, restitution, and prison exposure.