A carjacking that took place late last month led to the theft of thousands of records and the potential risk for identity theft.
The carjacking happened on West 25th Street two weeks ago. The thieves got away with the car and thousands of sensitive records, reported chief investigator Duane Pohlman.
The carjackers struck in broad daylight, stealing the car from a man married to a county employee.
Within the car was a computer memory stick filled with names and sensitive personal information on nearly 3,000 people who have received energy assistance from a county weatherization program.
"It contained their name, address, phone number and Social Security number," said Cuyahoga County director of development Paul Oyaski.
The county employee had taken the memory stick home with her and left it in the trunk of her car.
"She was distraught. She was embarrassed. She was unhappy," Oyaski said.
The county is sending out a letter, informing everyone on the list that their personal information has been stolen and delivering guidelines for how to protect themselves now if their identity is stolen.
The employee has not been disciplined and the county said she did nothing wrong.
The car is still missing and so is the memory stick.
Anyone who was a part of the county program and thinks their information has been stolen can contact the Cuyahoga County development office at 216-348-4086.