Cyberthief Who Stole PHI Sentenced To Prison

A Texas woman was sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison after stealing patients’ protected health information (PHI) and using it to fund a shopping spree.  

Acting US Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjej announced on July 22 that the Texas woman was sentenced to federal prison for federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, according to a US Department of Justice press release. 

Amanda Lowry, 40, of Sherman, Texas, pleaded guilty on Dec. 4, 2020, “to conspiracy to obtain information from a protected computer and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Sean D. Jordan,” the release states. 

“Today’s sentence is another example of the Eastern District’s commitment to vigorously defending protected health information and prosecuting those who exploit such information for their personal gain,” Acting US Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei said in the release.  

“The defendant’s actions not only compromised victims’ sensitive information, exposing them to fraudulent schemes; but, also ultimately resulted in unnecessary costs to federal healthcare programs,” Ganjej stated.  

Lowry, along with Demetrius Cervantes, and Lydia Henslee, were named in a federal indictment on Sept. 11, 2019. The trio was charged with “conspiracy to obtain information from a protected computer and conspiracy to unlawfully possess and use a means of identification,” according to the release.  

The group is “alleged to have breached a health care provider’s electronic health record (EHR) system in order to steal protected health information and personally identifiable information belonging to patients,” the release notes. “This stolen information was then ‘repackaged’ in the form of false and fraudulent physician orders and subsequently sold to durable medical equipment (DME) providers and contractors.” 

The three defendants “obtained more than $1.4 million in proceeds from the sale of the stolen information.  The defendants then used those proceeds to purchase items such as sport utility vehicles, off-road vehicles, and jet skis,” the release states.  

Cervantes was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison on July 8. Henslee pleaded guilty on March 25, 2021 and is awaiting sentencing.  

The US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; US Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation; and the US Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service investigated this case.   

Assistant US Attorneys Nathaniel Kummerfeld and Adrian Garcia are prosecuting the case.