July 18 (UPI) — Luigi Mangione’s attorneys allege Manhattan prosecutors wrongly obtained the medical records from the insurance carrier of the suspect in the shooting death of the UnitedHealthcare CEO in December.
In a court filing Thursday in the New York case, the defense said prosecutors violated HIPAA, which is the federal law that protects medical privacy, when Aetna was pressured to hand them over without a court order or Mangione’s consent.
“There is no question that the District Attorney has no right to possess or review these documents,” the filing said.
“The violation also involves the intentional and knowing violation of his doctor-patient privilege.”
The prosecutors used a “false and fraudulent” subpoena, warning they would be held in contempt if they didn’t give them the records, the defense said. Obtained were 120 pages of information, including “different diagnoses as well as specific medical complaints made by Mr. Mangione,” the lawyers said.
They said the office “falsely made up a court date — May 23 — and bypassed the court. The information wasn’t relevant to the court, they said.
Magione’s lawyers want Supreme Court Judge Gregory Carro to schedule an evidentiary hearing, including possibly throwing out the charges.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office told FOX News and CNN that limited information was requested the insurer erroneously sent some additional records.
“We deleted the materials as soon as we became aware of them and brought it to defense and the court’s attention,” the office said.
Aetna told CNN that the insurer “received a subpoena for certain medical records, and we provided them appropriately.”
Mangione, who turned 27 on May 6, is facing charges in state and federal court in the death on Dec. 4 of Brian Thompson outside the Hilton Hotels in Midtown Manhattan before the company’s annual investor conference there. He was apprehended three days later at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona. Pa.
Mangione wasn’t covered by UnitedHealthcare.
The federal government is seeking the death penalty but in New York there is no capital punishment since it was outlawed in 2004. The state case is proceeding ahead of the federal one.
The state charges are first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, two counts of second-degree murder, weapons charges and using a forged instrument.
The federal charges are murder through the use of a firearm, interstate stalking resulting in death and a firearms offense.
Also in Pennsylvania, he has been charged with forgery, carrying a firearm without a license, tampering with records or identification, giving false ID to law enforcement and possessing “instruments of crime?
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Mangione is a federal inmate at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., without bond.
Last month, his attorneys wanted the judge to allow him to attend court proceedings without wearing handcuffs or body armor. His next appearance is scheduled for Sept. 16.
Four months before the shooting on Aug.15, Mangione wrote in his diary: “I finally feel confident about what I will do.
“The target is insurance. It checks every box.”
Magione suffered from back pain and underwent surgery to treat it, according to a friend, R.J., Martin and online postings.
The court filing didn’t disclose whether the medical records related to his back problems.
