On Tuesday, the OSC said it was now laying charges against a former saleswoman for Global RESP Corp. named Nellie Acar, alleging that Ms. Acar had purchased stolen maternity patient labels from a registered nurse.Peter Power/The Globe and Mail
Two hospital workers in Toronto sold confidential maternity records to registered education savings plan salespeople for as much as $2.50 per newborn, documents filed in an Ontario Securities Commission case allege.
One former Toronto-area hospital clerk, Shaida Bandali, is alleged to have made $12,000 over two years by selling the information until traces of the sensitive records were found in the office photocopier's memory.
OSC officials investigating the massive maternity ward privacy breach at the Rouge Valley Health System and the Scarborough Hospital have been filing documents in court over the past several months as they obtained search warrants to comb through bank records, personal computers, phone logs and hospital files.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
The breaches also prompted an investigation by the province's privacy commissioner and a lawsuit demanding $400-million on behalf as many as 14,000 patients.
On Tuesday, the OSC announced charges against former RESP salespeople Nellie Acar, Poly Edry and Subramaniam Sulur, as well as a labour and delivery nurse who worked at both the Rouge Valley and Scarborough institutions, Esther Cruz. Last fall, the OSC had laid a charge against Ms. Bandali of unregistered trading under the Ontario Securities Act.
The court documents also suggest the practice of snooping in maternity wards for leads on RESP sales could be more widespread than the charges issued so far would indicate. The documents say investigators had learned of similar allegations at another Toronto-area hospital and that the information from the Rouge Valley and Scarborough hospitals was also disseminated to RESP salespeople besides those charged.
An OSC spokeswoman would not say whether the agency is investigating similar incidents or if other charges are pending.
Ms. Acar, 55, a former saleswoman for Global RESP Corp., is also facing allegations from the OSC that she submitted false applications for clients.
Ms. Acar did not return a phone call requesting comment before deadline. The others named could not be reached.
Jeff Gray