Hospital staff, financial reps charged in patient RESP scheme

“These are far more serious charges than we’ve ever seen before,” said Michael Crystal, a lawyer representing victims of the breach in a class-action lawsuit. “They’re suggesting that the information wasn’t snooped, but sold.”

“The possibility of jail is certainly looming for these individuals,” he said.

Charges laid against snooping health professionals under the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) have not resulted in a single conviction.

The Ontario Securities Commission alleges that Nellie Acar, a sales representative with Global RESP Corporation, purchased stolen maternity patient labels from nurse Esther Cruz and attempted to sell the mothers Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs). On at least two occasions, Acar submitted false RESP applications, the commission alleges.

Both women have been charged criminally with bribery, while Acar was also charged with forgery and possession of stolen property. In addition, Cruz was charged with breach of trust and theft.

Also charged is Poly Edry, a former branch manager with Knowledge First Financial Inc., and Subramaniam Sulur, an assistant branch manager with C.S.T. Consultants Inc., after they allegedly bought confidential patient information from former Rouge Valley clerk Shaida Bandali, who was charged last November.

Edry and Sulur were charged with failing to act in good faith and participating in an unlawful referral arrangement under the Securities Act. Edry’s husband, Gavriel, allegedly assisted his wife in the scheme and was charged with trading securities without a licence.

“I’m happy about the decision (to charge) because it shows that somebody was listening and that nobody will have to go through that trauma again,” said Tanya Taylor, whose contact information was leaked from Rouge Valley after she gave birth to her daughter.

“Anybody who’s thinking of doing this to other people, they’ll learn their lesson,” she said.

All three companies involved told the Star they fully co-operated with the investigation and fired the employees involved. Knowledge First and C.S.T Consultants further said they conducted third-party audits to ensure their privacy policies are sound.

The OSC says the arrangements between the hospital staff and the financial salespeople lasted between two and five years and affected more than 14,450 new mothers at Rouge Valley Health System and Scarborough Hospital.

Last year, Ontario’s Privacy Commissioner, Brian Beamish, investigated the privacy breach and found that Bandali had been paid $600 for 400 patient records — or $1.50 each.

According to Beamish’s report, Bandali resigned after she left patient information print-outs in the office printer and they were discovered by a superior.

An unnamed employee outed him- or herself by requesting access to the computer system, admitting an intention to sell patients RESPs. The person did not co-operate with the investigation, the report stated, and had to be issued a summons. The employee was fired in August 2013.

C.S.T. Consultants spokesperson Edyta McKay said “these actions are regrettable and inexcusable.”

“We are sorry this incident has violated public trust. We are extremely disappointed by the behaviour of this individual, and it is not indicative of our commitment to ethical business practices, which is unwavering,” George Hopkinson, Knowledge First’s president and CEO said.

Global issued a statement saying the company has “always respected and protected the public’s private information.”

David Brazeau, a spokesperson for Rouge Valley, said the hospital takes the privacy of its patients very seriously and continues to co-operate in the investigation.

“The alleged criminal activity from this former employee is not indicative of our staff’s core values and their commitment to protecting the privacy of our patients,” wrote Scarborough Hospital spokesperson Holly-Ann Campbell.

Clarification – June 5, 2015: This article was edited from a previous version that did not make clear that Poly Edry is no longer a branch manager with Knowledge First Financial Inc.