Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)
HOUSTON – A Houston doctor has been indicted for obtaining protected individual health information for patients that were not under his care and without authorization, announced Alamdar S. Hamdani.
The case against Ethan Haim, 34, Dallas, has now been unsealed, and he is set to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Yvonne Y. Ho in Houston at 2 p.m.
The four-count indictment alleges Haim obtained personal information including patient names, treatment codes and the attending physician from Texas Children’s Hospital’s (TCH) electronic system without authorization. He allegedly obtained this information under false pretenses and with intent to cause malicious harm to TCH.
According to the indictment, Haim was a resident at Baylor College of Medicine and had previous rotations at TCH as part of his residency.
In April 2023, Haim allegedly requested to re-activate his login access at TCH to access pediatric patients not under his care. The indictment alleges he obtained unauthorized access to personal information of pediatric patients under false pretenses and later disclosed it to a media contact.
If convicted, Haim faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 maximum possible fine.
FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S Attorney Tina Ansari is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.