Inside Job at Blue Cross Blue Shield Racked up $742,000 Worth of Sam’s Club Items

A former customer service representative at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan was part of an identity theft scheme that led to significant credit card fraud.

For years, BCBSM employee Angela Patton had an agreement with accomplices "whereby she received payments in exchange for obtaining and disclosing individually identifiable health information of patients covered by health plans administered by BCBSM,” according to an indictment.

Patton printed out screenshots of the data, which were sold to the conspirators for use in ID theft and credit fraud.

The indictment states Patton "had access to the [company's] computer system and databases and had received training in and became familiar with her obligations of confidentiality under the HIPAA regulations." It notes that Patton was authorized by BCBSM "to access individually identifiable health information of patients who received health coverage from health plans administered by BCBSM, for only such purposes as permitted by the HIPAA regulations."

The nicked information was used to create counterfeit credit cards and open lines of credit in the victims' names at a number of retail chains. Those retailers included Lowe's, Cabela and Sam's Club.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise was fraudulently purchased, including more than $742,000 spent at Sam's Club.

The personal information exploited during the scheme included names, addresses and Social Security numbers of Blue Cross Blue Shield members. Police in several states discovered the stolen BCBSM subscriber information in hotels, homes and vehicles of the various defendants.

In a March 10 statement, BCBSM said the company has begun notifying victims.