Memphis Man Sentenced in Conspiracy to Sell Patient Information to Third Parties

Memphis, TN – A Memphis man has been sentenced in federal court for stealing patient information as part of a scheme to sell private information for personal gain. Roderick Harvey, 42, has been sentenced to five years of probation for his role in a conspiracy to violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA. United States District Judge Thomas L. Parker also ordered Harvey to serve one year of the probationary period in home detention and to pay a $50,000 fine. U.S. Attorney Kevin G. Ritz announced the sentence today. 

In April 2023, Harvey pled guilty to conspiring with five former Methodist Hospital employees to unlawfully disclose patient information in violation of HIPAA.

According to information presented in court, between November 2017, and December 2020, Harvey paid Kirby Dandridge, Sylvia Taylor, Kara Thompson, Melanie Russell, and Adrianna Taber to provide him with names and phone numbers of patients who had been involved in motor vehicle accidents. Harvey then sold the information to third persons including personal injury attorneys and chiropractors.

HIPAA was enacted by Congress in 1996 to create national standards to protect sensitive patient information from being disclosed without a patient’s knowledge or consent. HIPAA’s provisions make it a crime to disclose patient information, or to obtain patient information with the intent to sell, transfer or use such information for personal gain. 

Dandridge, Taylor, Taber, Thompson, and Russell were sentenced after pleading guilty in 2023 to disclosing patient information to Harvey. Dandridge was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay a $2,500 fine. Thompson was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay a fine of $3,000. Taylor was sentenced to two years of probation.  Taber was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine. Russell was sentenced to time served and placed on supervised release for six months.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Carroll L. André III prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.