Government Worker Suspected of Criminal Activity Used Position to Find Data on Investigators
A federal government worker who abused her access to sensitive consumer data to try to stave off a prostitution investigation has been sentenced to four months' home confinement with another four years of probation. Candice "Candy" Smith, 44, of Blue Springs, Mo., pleaded guilty to making unauthorized inquiries into data aggregator LexisNexis's database of non-public information on millions of consumers, such as driver's license and address information. Many people might assume that only cops can look up this type of information, but Smith was granted access to the database by virtue of her job as a bill collector for the Center for Medicaid Services, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Prostitution Suspect Used Data Access to Keep Tabs on Cops, Washington Post, December 2, 2005.
