Adults and Children with learning and Developmental Disabilities, Inc Data Breach (2012)

A Bay Shore woman who worked as an aide for mentally disabled adults was arrested Thursday accused of stealing the identity of a patient and going on a spending spree, Suffolk County police said. For 21 years, Noreen Hanney, 38, of 1653 N. Thompson Drive, worked as a house manager for Adults and Children with Learning and Developmental Disabilities, Inc. (ACLD), police said. Detectives said the position allowed Hanney the access to the personal identities and banking information of the people living at the group home, located at 77 Vanderbuilt Blvd. in Oakdale. Between June and September of 2012, police said Hanney used the debit card information of one of the mentally disabled residents and made several monthly payments on her 2008 Toyota Highlander. She also allegedly purchased airline tickets for a personal flight to Florida and withdrew cash multiple times at ATM machines, detectives said. Sometimes she would use the [debit] card and sometimes just the number, said Det. Sgt. Mark Pulaski of the Suffolk police identity theft unit. He said in her job capacity, Hanney had access to the debit card number and ATM pin code. She was the caregiver for the mentally challenged people in the home. Their expenses had to be supplied and accounted for if they received federal and state monies, he said. After the victim realized that more than $3,000 had gone missing from their bank account, Pulaski said the person reached out up the chain of command at the non-profit agency. The agency subsequently notified police on Oct. 9, he said. Juliette McKenna, the director of development and community relations for the agency, said her organization discovered the theft using internal controls, and immediately notified police after noticing the alleged theft. McKenna said Hanney had access to the personal information of residents as part of her job, because most of the residents in the group home had limited capacity to understand and manage their finances. She said the agency conducted an internal investigation, which reflected that no other misconduct has occurred. After the police department was notified, Hanney abruptly quit her job, McKenna said. It was at that point in October 2012, that she began working at the Association for Children with Down Syndrome (ACDS) in Plainview, according to a police news release. An organization spokesman said he believed the incident had nothing to do with ACDS. Pulaski said that during the investigation, police conducted extensive surveillance operations on this subject. The investigation yielded Hanneys arrest on Thursday at her home in Bay Shore. She was charged with first-degree identity theft and is scheduled to be arraigned Friday at First District Court in Central Islip. Pulaski said based on the nature of Hanneys job and her access to sensitive information, detectives are asking anyone who may be a victim to call the Identity Theft Unit at 631-852-6821. An investigation remains ongoing.