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Guilty Plea in ChoicePoint Data Theft

By Martin H. Bosworth
ConsumerAffairs.com

December 28, 2005
The alleged culprit behind the ChoicePoint data breach, which compromised the personal information of 145,000 people, has entered a guilty plea to charges of conspiracy and grand theft.

ChoicePoint • Lexis-Nexis Parent To Buy ChoicePoint • ChoicePoint Settles Data Breach Lawsuit • More ChoicePoint Identity Theft Victims Identified • ChoicePoint Settles With Attorneys General Over Data Breach • FTC Finally Sets Up Redress For ChoicePoint Victims • ChoicePoint Names a "Consumer Advocate" • FTC Fails To Pay Victims Of ChoicePoint Data Breach • ChoicePoint Gets a Makeover • Data Blunders Cost ChoicePoint $15 Million • Guilty Plea in ChoicePoint Data Theft • ChoicePoint Finds More Cases Of Illegal Data Access • ChoicePoint Responds • PATRIOT Act Further Empowers ChoicePoint • Previous Data Thefts Went Unreported • Consumers Will Be Able to See Their ChoicePoint Records, Company Says • Nigerian Sentenced to Prison in ChoicePoint Theft • State Tally of ChoicePoint Victims • ChoicePoint Breach Worse Than First Reported • Is National Security Compromised by ID Theft? • States Demand ChoicePoint Notify ID Theft Victims • Private Information Stolen from Nationwide Consumer Database

Nigerian-born Olatunji Oluwatosin, of Los Angeles, is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 10. Oluwatosin is already serving a 16-month prison term for a previous felony count of identity theft, to which he pleaded no contest.

Oluwatosin was considered part of a larger conspiracy, one of several individuals who gained access to ChoicePoint's database of consumer records. However, Oluwatosin refused to give up his accomplices and remains the only individual charged in the theft.

ChoicePoint's new privacy and compliance officer, Carol DiBattiste, expressed satisfaction with Oluwatosin's plea.

"Since this investigation is ongoing, we are limited in the comments we can make," she said in an interview with ConsumerAffairs.com. "We look forward to continuing our relationship with Los Angeles County authorities to see that justice is done."

ChoicePoint is an information broker that specializes in providing records of consumer activity to government agencies, employers, and third party businesses. The company has nearly 20 billion records on individuals, including motor vehicle registrations, license and deed transfers, military records, addresses and Social Security numbers.

Although the ChoicePoint data breach was not the first or the largest identity theft case in recent years, it was the lightning rod that brought the issue to public light, and provoked calls for stronger consumer protection and federal legislation against identity theft and online fraud.

Consumer activist groups and legislators alike demanded more accountability and options for individuals whose records may be tampered with or stolen by hackers or thieves, including "credit freezes," full disclosure of information about thefts, and greater restrictions on sharing of Social Security numbers and addresses.

ChoicePoint changed its business practices after the theft, modifying its reports to allow customers to see their own data, and restricting sales of reports that contain Social Security numbers, except to government and law enforcement agencies.

"Since [the data breach] occurred," DiBattiste said, "We have strengthened our credentialing, security procedures and made unprecedented changes to our business model to ensure that the sensitive, personally-identifiable information of consumers remains safeguarded."

However, since the initial breach, the company discovered another 5,000 records may have been viewed without authorization, this time by a pair of private investigators and a Miami, Fla., police officer.

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