Fort Wayne Community Schools officials are now concerned that a man arrested on forgery and counterfeiting charges may have used some employees' personal information in his possession.

Spokeswoman Krista Stockman said fewer than five employees had reported their information may have been stolen. The district initially reported there was nothing to indicate that was the case.

The district e-mailed all its employees notifying them of the breach Wednesday and is now attempting to send letters to former employees who may be affected.

Stockman said the information from The Terrell Co., a Fort Wayne insurance brokerage firm working with North American Benefits Co., dated April 2004 includes names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and salary information.

FWCS had no role in the breach, Stockman said. “I think it's fair to say we do a good job of keeping our information safe, and our employees take confidentiality very seriously.”

Stockman was unsure whether the district prohibits its vendors from data mining or shopping employees' personal information, but added: “I don't believe we worked with a careless vendor in this instance, but sometimes things happen.”

Any full-time or part-time employees who received benefits in 2004 should monitor their credit report for any unusual activity, Stockman said. Any fraudulent transactions should be reported to the police.

On Sept. 17, Fort Wayne Police searched the home of Steven T. Brown, 50, of the 100 block of West Leith Street, for check-making materials and other counterfeiting paraphernalia and found a 94-page document containing personal information belonging to 3,348 FWCS employees, according to police spokesman Michael Joyner.

Joyner said it was clear Brown did not work for either Terrell or North American Benefits, though police do not know how he obtained the information or how long he had it.

“We would not know unless we had a victim,” Joyner said. So far, no one has approached the police claiming identity theft.

Brown faces a charge of fraud related to the theft of a woman's credit account. He's accused of using a stolen card July 5 at a Rent-a-Center. The woman filed a report with police July 14.


Reporter Evan Goodenow contributed to this story.