A Zambian , Paul Pepala, 35 who scribbled down names, birth dates and Social Security numbers of 19 UPMC Shadyside patients and then gave them to a fellow Zambian, faces possible jail term after his guilty plea in Federal court.
The compatriot, who used the data to submit fake tax returns and claim US$84, 190 in refunds has apparently fled back to Zambia.
UPMC Shadyside is a 250 bed tertiary care hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a long legacy of leadership in cardiology and cardiac surgery.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Mr Pepala of Murraysville is a permanent resident of the US and has been a surgical instrument technician at UPMC Shadyside since 2008.
In February that year, he took down patients’ identifying information and passed on the names and numbers to a Mr. Eric Sinyangwe.
That act is the first violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act according to US Attorney David J. Hickton’s office
It was heard that Mr. Sinyangwe, along with fellow Zambian Mr. Gary Ndanga, ran a West Mifflin based business called Oubani Taxes.
The firm became an authorized tax preparer under the Internal Revenue Service’s E-File program.
According to Assistant US Attorney Gregory C. Melucci, the firm made arrangements with an unnamed bank to get refund anticipation loans for clients.
Mr. Pepala agreed to give the two tax preparers patient data in return for US$3,000 or US$4,000.
But he never got the money, because according to Attorney Anthony Bittner, who represents Mr. Pepala, Mr. Sinyangwe and Mr. Ndanga had “threatening personas and that they used undue influence on him.”
Mr. Sinyangwe prepared 2007 returns in the names of the 19 patients, claiming they were due refunds ranging from US$1,170 to US$6,273.
He got refund anticipation loans for at least some of the returns and put them in his own bank account, according to an indictment against him.
When some of the patients discovered that their tax returns had already been filed, they alerted the US Postal Service, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the US Secret Service.
The investigation led to Oubani Taxes.
Mr. Sinyangwe pleaded guilty in May 2010 but had his sentencing postponed. Two weeks after a court-sanctioned trip to Orlando, Florida and Chicago, he disappeared.
The sentencing hearing, which had been reset for May 26, 2011 was postponed indefinitely.
Mr. Melucci said Mr. Sinyangwe and Mr. Ndanga who were never charged appear to be back in Zambia.
The United States takes the position that a 1931 extradition treaty with the British empire binds Zambia. However, the Zambian Embassy says the pact is not in force.
Mr. Pepala will be sentenced on October 20, 2011. His crime is a misdemeanor, but because he is not a citizen, it could trigger deportation.
Mr. Bittner said Mr. Pepala was a hard worker who sends money to his mother in Zambia and helps a disabled sister in Baltimore.
He opted not to say whether Mr. Pepala knew, at the time, that what he was doing was wrong.
“He did not know that these numbers were going to be used for fraudulent tax returns. He is almost a victim of himself,” Mr. Bittner said.
Meanwhile, Zambia’s Ambassador to the United States of America, Mrs. Sheila Siwela has advised Zambians in the USA to avoid activities that may lead them into disrepute with the host country.
She has called on all Zambians to abide by the US Immigration Regulations and to promote the good name that Zambia has earned itself of late in the USA.
In a speech read on her behalf by Counselor (Consular and Political), Mr. Everistus B. Kalaba in Pittsburgh at the Immigration Meeting organized by the USA Immigration Office last weekend, Ambassador Siwela said it is the responsibility of each and every Zambian in the Diaspora to represent the country in the most positive light.
Ambassador Siwela says the government considers Zambians in the Diaspora as important ambassadors and partners in the development of the country.
“In this regard, I urge you to avail yourselves of the services provided by the Embassy to ensure that you remain in compliance with the law,” she said.
The statement has been released by First Secretary for Press Ben Kangwa at the Zambian Embassy in Washington DC.
ZNBC
