AREA WOMAN CONVICTED OF SELLING FBI AGENT’S MEDICAL RECORD SENTENCED

[ McALLEN, TX] – Liz Arlene RAMIREZ , 36, of Alamo, Texas, convicted of selling the confidential medical record information of an FBI agent to a person she believed to be working for a drug trafficker, has been sentenced, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today.

At a sentencing hearing held on Wednesday, August 23, 2006, United States District Judge Randy Crane ordered Ramirez to serve 6 months in jail and 4 months of home confinement to be followed by a two year term of supervised release. There were two aggravating factors found by the court that incrementally increased the punishment range. First, that Ramirez had sold the confidential medical record, and secondly, that the record belonged to a federal agent. The court also found that Ramirez’s conduct was an aberration. Ramirez was indicted and arrested in November 2005, and convicted in March 2006 after pleading guilty to the federal felon offense of wrongfully using a unique health identifier intending to sell individually identifiable health information for personal gain.

The court has permitted Ramirez to remain free on bond until September 11, 2006. On that date, the court has ordered Ramirez to surrender herself into the custody of the U. S. Marshal Service to begin serving her six month jail term.

Ramirez’s conviction is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation initiated in early 2005 upon receiving information from a confidential source that Ramirez had offered to sell the confidential medical record of an FBI agent. That investigation resulted in evidence which proved that during the spring of 2005, Ramirez, who was employed at a doctor’s office under contract to provide physicals and medical treatment to agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), offered to and agreed to provide the personal and medical information of an FBI agent to a person she thought was working for a drug trafficker for a price. The person to whom the offer was made was, in actuality, a confidential source (CS) of information to the FBI, who recorded their various meetings. In her final meeting with the CS, Ramirez received $500, the price she set for providing the medical records of an FBI agent.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Steven Schammel.