SC agency says information leaked on 228K people

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The agency that runs South Carolina’s Medicaid program says an employee improperly transferred information about more than 228,000 people to a private email account.

State agents arrested 36-year-old Christopher Lykes Jr. on Thursday. Health and Human Services Director Anthony Keck says Lykes was fired last week and has not said why the data was accessed.

The information included names and Medicaid ID numbers, which are also Social Security numbers. The ID numbers could be used to make fraudulent claims.

Keck says new security measures are in place and anyone with data stolen will be offered identity theft help.

Lykes faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of all six counts against him. There was no answer at his home and it isn’t clear if he has a lawyer.