A former employee of the Insurance Corporation of B.C. who allegedly accessed customer information in helping track down victims in an arson and shooting spree six years ago has been charged.
Candy Elaine Rheaume, 44, is accused of improperly obtaining personal information from ICBC’s database prior to the attacks, BC’s gang task force announced yesterday.
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It is believed suspect Vincent Cheung used the data to target 15 people with ties to the Justice Institute of B.C. from April 2011 to January 2012. The former lottery winner was sentenced to 13 years and six months in prison. Allegedly, Cheung had paid Rheaume to access and disclose the sensitive data so that he could carry out his attacks.
In a release, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit said all 15 victims’ license plates were suspiciously run by an ICBC employee before the crimes occurred.
“That information was ultimately used by the orchestrator to facilitate the brazen attacks,” the task force explained.
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Rheaume, who has no prior criminal record, was dismissed from ICBC in 2011. According to
CTV News, she is expected to appear in New Westminster provincial court on Feb 15.
An ICBC representative told
CTV News that it has since improved its security systems so that it could better detect anyone accessing information when they should not be. New software was also installed that would allow greater flexibility in restricting access to client data.
“ICBC follows strict privacy and information security policy and procedures,” the company said in a statement released earlier this month.
“In fact, it was the integrity of our systems which allowed us to uncover this clear breach of ICBC’s policies and procedures by the former employee.”
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