(NewsNation) — New York prosecutors say they were “erroneously” sent Luigi Mangione’s confidential medical records from the alleged shooter’s healthcare company and then again from his defense attorneys.
Prosecutors said they had requested “entirely unremarkable” information from health company Aetna regarding Mangione, but the company mistakenly included 120 pages of medical records, court filings showed.
They added that defense attorneys also accidentally sent the same medical records with them.
“Like Aetna, the defense then erred, compounding Aetna’s mistake,” they wrote. “Defense counsel sent the People an email attaching the entire Aetna file she now complains about.”
The filing comes in response to a defense attorney’s claims last month that prosecutors committed “fraud” and lied to obtain Mangione’s confidential protected medical information from Aetna.
But prosecutors say they took “appropriate measures” by forwarding the confidential health records both times to the judge and deleting their copy.
“Mistakes do occur,” prosecutors wrote of both Aetna and defense attorneys as they defended their handling of the medical records.
“Given these circumstances, defendant’s real complaint is not about the subpoena itself, but about Aetna’s response to the subpoena, which included documents that the People had not requested.”
Mangione is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel as the executive arrived for UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor conference late last year.
He has pleaded not guilty.
Luigi Mangione’s attorneys claim HIPAA protected records shared
Defense attorneys claimed in a filing last month that while the subpoena asked for Mangione’s account number and dates of coverage, Aetna also sent over 120 pages of confidential medical information protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
If the District Attorney’s office conducted the subpoena properly through the court, defense attorneys would have flagged and objected to the information sent, the defense team said.
“Rather than having Aetna give the documents to the Court, as required by the already fraudulent subpoena, the District Attorney told Aetna to provide the documents directly to the District Attorney, intentionally eliminating the Court from the subpoena process and ensuring that the District Attorney would secure these confidential medical records,” his attorneys wrote.
That legally protected medical information has now been illegally viewed by the state, attorneys claimed.
In their filing, Mangione’s attorneys said Manhattan prosecutors have been “cutting corners and carelessly violating” his rights throughout the legal process in its “unprecedented and unnecessary haste to try Mr. Mangione’s non-capital state case before his federal death penalty case.”
What was Luigi Mangione’s alleged motive?
After his arrest, news reports attempted to piece together his supposed motivations. Some suggested a back injury fueled his resentment against the health care industry.
Mangione reportedly revealed that he wanted to kill Thompson to “prove a political point about the health insurance industry” and its practices, which he characterized as “(extracting) human life force for money.” Mangione had also allegedly planned a bombing to generate headlines.
Mangione has gained a cultlike following from fans and has been viewed as a modern-day Robin Hood. A fundraiser that was set up for Mangione has topped more than $1 million. This fund is supposed to be used for Mangione’s legal defense fees.
Mangione is facing state charges in New York and Pennsylvania, including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, two counts of second-degree murder, weapons charges, and a count of using a forged instrument. The maximum sentence for the state charges would be life without parole.
Federal prosecutors also brought their charges, which could come with the death penalty if Mangione is found guilty.