Shawn Williams, Former City Employee, Accused of Stealing Personal Information

Doing your job is the surest way to prove you are a productive worker

​A former Human Services Agency employee appeared in court Tuesday afternoon where she pleaded not guilty to multiple charges claiming she stole Social Security and other confidential information from more than 3,000 Medi-Cal applicants.

Prosecutors say, starting in 2006, Shawn Williams, who was an eligibility worker, gathered the names and Social Security numbers of Medi-Cal applicants by forwarding e-mails from her work account to her personal account. Strangely enough, she wasn't ripping off the data to use or sell, but rather to help prove she was a prolific worker.

Prosecutors say she used that information create more paperwork that she stockpiled as a way to show she was productive while she built a case against the city where she claimed she was being discriminated against.

Indeed, a comprehensive review of her performance revealed just how productive she was -- in stealing information.
 
"In an era of prolific identity theft, the protection of people's personal information, including their names, addresses, dates of birth and social security numbers, is of paramount importance," said San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón.

Williams was fired in 2009, and has since sued the city for wrongful termination.

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