Grayson County Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possession and Use of Protected Health Information

PLANO, Texas - A Denison woman has been sentenced to prison for federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei today.

Lydia Henslee, 29, pleaded guilty on March 25, 2021, to conspiring to possess and use means of identification in connection with various offenses and was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Sean D. Jordan.

'Not only did the defendants' actions in this scheme compromise sensitive information, but they also stole the peace of mind of their victims,' said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. 'Today's sentence represents the serious consequences of identity theft and should serve as a warning to others who seek to profit from it.'

According to information presented in court, Henslee, Amanda Lowry, and Demetrius Cervantes, were named in a federal indictment on Sept. 11, 2019 charging them with conspiracy to obtain information from a protected computer and conspiracy to unlawfully possess and use a means of identification. They are alleged to have breached a health care provider's electronic health record (EHR) system in order to steal protected health information and personally identifiable information belonging to patients. This stolen information was then 'repackaged' in the form of false and fraudulent physician orders and subsequently sold to durable medical equipment (DME) providers and contractors. The defendants obtained more than $1.4 million in proceeds from the sale of the stolen information. The defendants then used those proceeds to purchase items such as sport utility vehicles, off-road vehicles, and jet skis.

Cervantes was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison on July 8, 2021. Lowry was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison on July 22, 2021.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation; and the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service. The matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathaniel Kummerfeld and Adrian Garcia.