Brooklyn resident Dwight McPherson has been identified as the employee at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center responsible for the extraction of tens of thousands of patients' ID information. McPherson said he was approached by an Atlanta-based ID-theft ring and sold his first batch of 1,000 names, phone numbers, and social security numbers for $750. The hassle of having one's credit ruined and identity stolen apparently has a street value of 75 cents.
McPherson's lawyer was quick to defend his client as "a hardworking, honest citizen. He is presumed innocent." Anyway, McPherson also admitted selling ID info of another 1,000 patients earlier this year for $600. He's currently being held on $500,000 bail.
McPherson's malfeasance was noticed after postal inspectors discovered patient records from NY Presbyterian in Atlanta. The patient-admissions representative copped to selling the information for cash after he was arrested. Federal investigators believe the theft of the patient records was part of a larger criminal operation.
