Man charged after medical records found

CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) - A Niagara Falls, Ontario man is facing charges he lied to government authorities and violated HIPAA laws by dumping medical records into a dumpster behind the Erie County Auto Bureau Office in Cheektowaga.

The U.S. Attorney's office says John Edward Cipolla could face a max sentence of 10 years behind bars and a fine of $250,000 if found guilty of dumping records that belonged to the former Avalon Centers Inc., an eating disorder center that was located in Clarence. News 4 covered the story back in June of 2010. According to prosecutors, Cipolla obtained the records in the hopes of re-opening the clinic.

After the records were found in the dumpster, Cipolla allegedly told authorities that he did not look through the records at Avalon's office and that there were no patient files in those records. In addition to violating HIPAA laws, he is charged with improperly obtaining and disclosing individually identifiable health information.

Cipolla was arrested in Hawaii on August 5, 2011.