A former systems administrator for the U.S. House of Representatives has been arrested and charged with orchestrating a massive theft of official mobile devices. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that the staffer allegedly stole 240 smartphones, valued at more than $150,000, and sold them for profit.
The defendant, identified as Christopher Sutherland, 43, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, was taken into custody on Friday. According to federal prosecutors, Sutherland utilized his position in the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to carry out the scheme between January and May 2023.
The Method of Theft Sutherland, who served as a system administrator from April 2020 to July 2023, was responsible for managing technology and providing mobile phones to committee staff. Investigators found that during a five-month period in 2023, he ordered 240 new smartphones and had them shipped directly to his residence.
The scale of the order raised immediate red flags during the subsequent investigation, as the committee only employed approximately 80 staffers at the time.
Bypassing Security Measures To avoid triggering the sophisticated security software installed on all Congressional devices, Sutherland allegedly dismantled the phones and sold them as individual parts to a local pawn shop. By stripping the devices, he hoped to bypass the tracking systems that would have alerted authorities if the phones were activated.
How the Scheme Unraveled The plot was discovered when one of the stolen devices was sold as a complete unit on an online marketplace. When the buyer powered on the phone, the screen displayed an official U.S. House of Representatives technical support number. The buyer contacted the support line, leading House IT officials to realize that hundreds of devices were unaccounted for.
The investigation is currently being led by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Authorities have not yet confirmed if any sensitive or classified data was compromised during the theft and subsequent sale of the hardware.
Sutherland now faces federal charges related to the theft of government property.
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