Three men were arrested July 14 and have been charged with stealing as many as 35,000 laptops belonging to Fairfax County Public Schools, according to a police report.
Detectives from the Fairfax County Major Crimes Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division arrested Fadi Atiyeh, 36, of Centreville, Franque Minor II, 35, of Maryland, and Mario Jones Jr., 21, of Woodbridge, months after a tip notified police about several thousand school laptops being “illegally reallocated” in a warehouse in the 6800 block of Industrial Road in Springfield, where they were intended to be auctioned, the police report said.
As the investigation unfolded, surveillance teams began noticing frequent arrivals by a box truck driven by Atiyeh and registered to Attyah Computer Recycling in Ashburn. However, during each appearance, the driver would remain in the vehicle, the report said, forgoing any paperwork common in the exchange of goods.
“Laptops and computer parts would be loaded into the truck, and the driver would leave,” the police report stated.
Detectives initiated a traffic stop of the box truck on July 14 and found stolen laptops in the vehicle. Atiyeh, who was employed at the time by the computer recycling company, has been charged with receiving stolen property and larceny with intent to distribute.
That same day, detectives arrested two warehouse employees for “facilitating the unlawful transactions,” the report said.
Minor and Jones were both charged with embezzlement and larceny with the intent to distribute. Each were employed by Fairfax County Public Schools.
The scheme is believed to date back as far as November 2020, the report said, with the number of laptops allegedly stolen worth an estimated value of more than $2 million.
Feature image, marketlan/stock.adobe.com
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