Grand Jury indicts former UCLA hospital employee for selling information from celebrities' medical files to media

By Cynthia Lee

A Los Angeles woman who resigned last year as she was being terminated from her UCLA Medical Center job for accessing the private medical records of celebrity patients has been indicted for selling confidential information to a national media outlet.

According to a sealed indictment filed April 9 that was unsealed April 29, the federal grand jury charged Lawanda Jackson, 49, with one felony count of illegally obtaining individually identifiable health information for commercial advantage.

Jackson, who was an administrative specialist at the UCLA Medical Center from 2006 until May 21, 2007, allegedly received at least $4,600 from the media outlet in exchange for providing the medical information, according to the United States Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California.

The indictment alleges that the media outlet paid Jackson by writing checks to her husband.

"We are deeply troubled that a former employee may have illegally received payments from a news organization in exchange for providing personal medical information," said David T. Feinberg, chief executive officer and interim vice chancellor of the UCLA Hospital System. "We welcome the U.S. Attorney's investigation and stand ready to cooperate in achieving a swift and fair outcome. Meanwhile, we continue to take steps to improve our staff training and information systems to further strengthen the confidentiality of patient records."

Chancellor Gene Block has since expressed UCLA's regret over breaches of patient privacy and has outlined a series of steps being taken by UCLA Health Systems to prevent such breaches from reoccurring and to identify and punish individuals who violate that trust.

Jackson, who could face a 10-year sentence in prison if she is convicted, is expected to be arraigned on the felony count on June 9 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The case was investigated by the FBI.

For more information on steps being taking by the UCLA Health System to strengthen patient privacy, read this letter from Chancellor Block.