Feds Charge Westborough Mental Health Center Employees Over Hacking

WESTBOROUGH, MA — Two former employees of a Westborough mental health and treatment facility have been charged by federal prosecutors over a series of hacking events in recent years that hampered the facility's computer systems.

Nathan Howe, 42, of Rutland, and Patrick Edmonds-Morin, 31, of Union, Conn., were recently charged with wire fraud and other computer crimes by federal prosecutors.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts, Howe and Edmonds-Morin entered the employee records system in 2021 and used a computer command that shut down the mental health facility's medical records system.

"By allegedly shutting down the network, Howe made the non-profit’s electronic medical records system inaccessible at its sites across Massachusetts, impairing or potentially impairing the medical examination, diagnosis, treatment and care of patients," the U.S. Attorney's office said in a news release.

The pair also took cell phones meant for the nonprofit's staff and sold them for profit, prosecutors said.

The charges carry possible prison terms up to 20 years, and fines up to $250,000, the U.S. Attorney's office said.