Defense Alleges Prosecutors Unlawfully Seized Luigi Mangione’s Private Medical Records in High-Profile Murder Case
Defense Alleges Prosecutors Unlawfully Seized Luigi Mangione’s Private Medical Records in High-Profile Murder Case
Lawyers for Luigi Mangione, accused in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, have launched a scathing attack against New York prosecutors, alleging they unlawfully obtained and reviewed a trove of their client’s confidential health information. In a bombshell court filing submitted Thursday night, the defense team claims prosecutors used an “unlawful, back-channel subpoena” to Aetna, Mangione’s former health insurer, bypassing proper legal channels.
According to the filing, the subpoena, issued by lead prosecutor Joel Seidemann on May 14, initially sought only Mangione’s account number and coverage period. However, Aetna mistakenly sent 120 pages of Mangione’s entire insurance record to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office on June 12. These records, clearly labeled as “Protected Health Information” under HIPAA, allegedly contain sensitive details including “different diagnoses as well as specific medical complaints.”
The defense argues that prosecutors should never have issued such a direct subpoena for privileged medical information without judicial oversight or notifying the defense. Furthermore, they contend that upon receiving the extensive, clearly marked private records, the DA’s office should not have reviewed them. Instead, the filing states, prosecutors downloaded the documents into an internal “discovery file” and reviewed them, waiting 12 days until June 24 to forward them to the judge and defense team.
Veteran public defender Sam Roberts echoed the defense’s concerns, stating on Friday that prosecutors typically must file a motion to the judge and defense before seeking privileged information like medical records, and the materials should be sent to the court first for private review. Mangione’s lawyers are now demanding that New York Supreme Justice Gregory Carro order prosecutors to disclose all communications with Aetna and hold a full evidentiary hearing. Potential remedies sought include the recusal of prosecutor Seidemann, suppression of evidence, or even the dismissal of the indictment.
The accusations add another layer of controversy to the high-stakes legal battle, where both New York state and federal prosecutors are vying to be the first to try Mangione. He faces state charges of murder as an act of terrorism and federal death-penalty-eligible murder charges related to the December 4 shooting of Brian Thompson. Mangione, a 27-year-old software developer, remains in a federal jail. He is scheduled to appear in state court on September 16 and federal court on December 5.
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