Two LexCo Residents Indicted in HHS Data Breach

Two Lexington County residents have been indicted by a Richland County grand jury in a data breach case involving the S.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

Christopher R. Lykes Jr., 37, was indicted for four counts of willful examination of private records by a public official, public member, or public employee, and one count of criminal conspiracy. He was originally arrested last April.

The incidents happened during early 2012. Both offenses are felonies, punishable by up to five years in prison per count (or 25 years total), or $5,000.00 per count (or $25,000.00) total, or both.

An alleged coconspirator, Toshia Yvette Latimer-Addison, 45, of Lexington was indicted for one count of criminal conspiracy. The offense is a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, or $5,000.00, or both.

The indictments allege Lykes, "while a public employee of SCDHHS, willfully examined, or aided and abetted in the willful examination of, confidential records for an improper or unlawful purpose," according to a release from the S.C. Attorney General's Office.

According to the original charges, more than 220,000 pieces of classified Medicaid patient information data were transferred to a personal email account in the case.

Latimer-Addison is accused of conspiring with Lykes in that effort.

The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.

Attorney General Wilson stressed all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.