Fired Exec Accused of Delaying PPE Shipments

A disgruntled former exec at a health care company deliberately altered computer records and delayed badly needed shipments of personal protective equipment, the FBI says. Christopher Dobbins, former vice president of finance at Stradis Healthcare in Georgia, has been charged with breaking into the company's computer system in late March, using a fake account he set up before he was fired earlier that month, WSB-TV reports. Investigators say the 40-year-old changed more than 115,000 records and deleted more than 2,000 others. According to the Department of Justice, the intrusion "disrupted and delayed the medical device packaging company’s shipments of personal protective equipment." The alleged hacking happened three days after Dobbins received his final severance payment.

Dobbins, who was hired by the medical packaging company in 2016, was disciplined twice last year after conflicts with another department, according to an affidavit. "This defendant allegedly disrupted the delivery of personal protective equipment in the middle of a global pandemic," Atlanta US Attorney Byung J. Pak said in a statement. "Scarce medical supplies should go to the healthcare workers and hospitals that need them during the pandemic." The FBI says Dobbins' actions delayed shipments of masks, gowns, and other equipment for between 24 and 72 hours, the Washington Post reports. The company said in a statement that it is "disappointed" by the "immeasurable internal harm" the former employee caused, but it is now back at full strength and is completely focused on working to serve the public and the medical community. (More coronavirus stories.)