The CityPaper
Retrieved 16 Apr 09
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A former child support worker was arrested after attempting to sell the personal information — including names, Social Security numbers and bank account numbers — of 1,600 people.
Steven K. Gilmore of Nashville, 27, was arrested late Wednesday and made his first appearance in federal court on Thursday. The federal criminal complaint alleges that he possessed, with intent to defraud, the stolen information.
“Public trust and confidence is severely undermined when attempts are made to steal and profit from the sale of private identifying information entrusted to our public service agencies,” said Ed Yarbrough, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, in a press release.
Gilmore was employed until Jan. 8 of this year by Policy Studies, Inc., a private company that contracts with the Tennessee Department of Human Services to provide child support services for Davidson County. He had access while he worked there to personal identification information, the criminal complaint claims.
He sold a total of 35 names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers between October 2008 and last month, all to an undercover operative of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
He claimed to the operative that he had similar information that he was willing to sell for an additional 1,500 people, and was arrested while meeting with the operative to deliver the information.
Authorities said the price he was charging for the data was $2,800.
Law enforcement authorities currently believe Gilmore has sold information only to government operatives, and that all information Gilmore has stolen has been recovered.
Gilmore is still being investigated by the TBI, as well as by the U.S. Secret Service.