United States v. Stacy Laulu

MEMORANDUM

Stacy Laulu was convicted after a jury trial of two counts of wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information with intent to use that information for “personal gain, or malicious harm.” 42 U.S.C. § 1320d-6(a)(3), (b)(3) (a felony violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”)). A co-defendant, Stuart Seugasala, had brutally assaulted a man who allegedly owed a confederate $50,000 for drugs. Two days later, Seugasala shot a second victim. He then contacted Laulu—a financial consultant at the hospital where the victims were treated—and asked about the victims’ injuries and whether they had identified their attackers. Laulu accessed hospital records and provided information from those records to Seugasala, with whom Laulu’s husband had previously been associated.

Laulu and Seugasala were tried jointly. In addition to the two felony HIPAA violation counts with which Laulu was charged, Seugasala was also charged with drug conspiracy, kidnapping, and use of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Laulu challenges the district court’s admission against her of a video of the assault, which vividly depicted Seugasala…