Former US House of Representatives staffer Sutherland took advantage of his position to steal and sell approximately 240 phones, with a market value totaling $150,000 (RM609,700). He has since been arrested and charged by prosecutors in Washington DC.
According to NBC, while serving as the system administrator for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Sutherland had the authority to procure phones for 80 colleagues. Between January and May 2023, he ordered 240 phones and had them shipped to his residence in Glen Burnie, Maryland.
Prosecutors indicated that Sutherland sold over 200 of the phones to a pawn shop near his home, instructing them to disassemble the phones for parts to circumvent the House’s remote management software. However, some phones later appeared for sale intact on eBay. When buyers turned them on, the screen displayed the House IT service center’s phone number, and calling it brought the entire case to light.