Local company could be fined for not destroying personal information

For information on protecting yourself against identity theft and what to do if you are a victim, check out the following links:
- www.txdps.state.tx.us
- www.texasfightsidtheft.gov
For help with consumer protection matters, contact the Texas Attorney General's Consumer Protection Hotline at (800) 621-0508.

EDINBURG - A local company that operates several fitness centers across the region could be fined if investigators substantiate allegations it left clients' sensitive personal information in a trash bin.

The situation came to light earlier this week when a local TV news report detailed how personal information belonging to one of the station's reporters was discovered inside a filing cabinet left in trash bin behind the former Cornerstone Fitness for Women center at 5423 S. McColl Road in Edinburg.

State Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, urged Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to investigate, according to Jerry Strickland, a spokesman for the attorney general's office.

Strickland would neither confirm nor deny whether his office was looking into the situation, but he did say the matter had been forwarded to his office's Consumer Protection Division, which is tasked with examining unfair or illegal business practices.

A message left late Friday afternoon with a Cornerstone Fitness secretary was not returned as of press deadline.

A caller to the local TV station apparently told a reporter there that his friend had found some personal information belonging to her in a filing cabinet he discovered several month ago in a trash bin when the fitness center shut down.

Cornerstone closed the facility in October and moved to a new location farther north on McColl. The company currently operates five fitness clubs in McAllen, Edinburg, Mission and Harlingen.

Hinojosa sent his letter to Abbot's office urging it to look into the matter after the TV news report aired.

"A lot of businesses are being very careless in the way they handle personal information," Hinojosa said. "Businesses (are required) to shred all information they no longer need."

Hinojosa pushed through legislation in 2005 that gave the attorney general's office the power to fine businesses up to $50,000 per violation for failing to properly dispose of or protect personal information they no longer need.

"Obviously the Texas Legislature realized the importance for securing information," said Strickland, the spokesman for the attorney general's office. "We're certainly cracking down on violations of the law."
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Sean Gaffney covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.