The leader of an identity theft ring that used stolen patient records purchased from a crooked hospital employee to pull off shopping sprees at major Manhattan department stores took a plea deal Monday.
Fernando Salazar, 28, admitted to buying the records of 250 Montefiore Medical Center patients for $3 a pop from ex-hospital clerk Monique Walker.
Salazar and his cohorts used the highly sensitive data to open credit cards and rack up nearly $50,000 in designer duds at luxury retailers, including Barneys, Macy’s and Victoria’s Secret.
He copped to grand larceny and unlawful possession of personal identification information in exchange for 3½ to 7 years in prison. Walker, 33, previously pleaded guilty to grand larceny and was sentenced to 6 months in jail.
“Like many schemes, this operation relied on insider access to confidential information,” said DA Cyrus Vance Jr. in a statement. “I encourage individuals and organizations to remain attentive to possible threats to information security and report them to law enforcement as soon as they occur — as Montefiore Medical Center did in this case — so that perpetrators may be held criminally responsible.”