MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp and Chief Brian C. Spring of the Pequannock Township Police Department announce the arrest of Sergiu Jitcu, 39, of Saddle Brook, on Computer Theft charges.
On or about November 8, 2017, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office was contacted by Chilton Memorial Hospital/Atlantic Health Systems Director of Security who reported a theft of computer equipment from the facility by the defendant, now a former IT employee at Chilton Memorial Hospital.
The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Specialized Crimes Division was advised that Chilton Medical Center received information from a resident of Wisconsin that he had purchased a computer hard drive on eBay from the defendant and this computer hard drive contained personal identifying information of individual(s) who may have been treated at Chilton Memorial Hospital.
The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Specialized Crimes Division commenced an investigation into the allegation and, ultimately, executed a Search Warrant on the defendant’s residence and motor vehicles resulting in the seizure of various computer equipment and additional items belonging to Chilton Memorial Hospital.
Subsequent investigation has revealed that at least one computer storage medium, which was sold on eBay by the defendant, contained data/data bases with personal identifying information of patient(s) of Chilton Memorial Hospital.
On or about December 15, 2017, Atlantic Health Systems sent notifications to patients, identified as potentially being affected by the theft, who had been treated at Chilton Medical Center advising of the incident.
The defendant has been charged with the following offenses based on the defendant’s criminal activity on various dates between January 1, 2015 and November 8, 2017:
- 1 count of Computer Criminal Activity, i.e. computer theft by taking data, data base, computer storage medium or computer equipment without authorization, or in excess of the authorization, which contained personal identifying information, medical diagnosis or other medical information concerning an identifiable person(s), in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-25e, a crime of the Second degree;
- 1 count of Computer Criminal Activity, i.e. computer theft by accessing data, data base, computer storage medium or computer equipment without authorization or in excess of the authorization, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-25a, a crime of the Third degree;
- 1 count of Access and Disclosure of data or personal identifying information, i.e. purposely or knowingly accessing data, data base, computer storage medium or computer equipment without authorization, or in excess of the authorization, and recklessly discloses such data, data base or personal identifying information, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-31a, a crime of the Third degree; and
- 1 count of Theft, i.e. the taking of computer equipment from Chilton Memorial Hospital, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-3a, a crime of the Third degree.
Prosecutor Knapp would like to thank the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Specialized Crimes Division, Pequannock Township Police Department, Saddle Brook Police Department and Chilton Memorial Hospital/Atlantic Health Systems whose efforts contributed to the investigation of this case
Editors Note: A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. Despite this accusation, the defendant is presumed innocent until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
