Man admits to stealing $332K in computer equipment from Afghanistan air base

SHARE Man admits to stealing $332K in computer equipment from Afghanistan air base

A Naperville man accused of stealing and reselling more than $332,000 worth of military computer equipment from an Air Force base in Afghanistan has pleaded guilty.

Timothy L. Maurer, 51, was charged last month with one count of theft of government property, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office. He pleaded guilty Monday during his arraignment before U.S. District Judge Robert M. Dow Jr. in federal court in Chicago.

In pleading guilty, Maurer admitted to stealing computer and communications equipment from storage containers belonging to the 445th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, stationed at Shindand Air Base in Afghanistan, prosecutors claim.

At the time of the theft, Maurer worked in Afghanistan as a systems administrator for defense contractor Raytheon Corp., prosecutors said.

Between December 2013 and February 2014, Maurer took more than 150 items — laptop computers, cellphones, electronic storage devices, power cables and other devices worth more than $322,000 in total, authorities said.

Prosecutors also accused Maurer of reselling some of the stolen high-end equipment to several vendors in the U.S., the statement said. Federal authorities later recovered some of the items from Maurer’s quarters and from vendors, and intercepted other items during shipment.

“Stealing from the U.S. government undermines our mission in Afghanistan, and anyone seeking to defraud the American taxpayer will be brought to justice,” John F. Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, said in the prepared statement.

Maurer, of Naperville, is free on his own recognizance while awaiting an April 7 sentencing hearing. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, but his plea agreement anticipates a likely sentence between 24 and 30 months, the statement said.

The Latest
The man was found unresponsive in an alley in the 10700 block of South Lowe Avenue, police said.
The man suffered head trauma and was pronounced dead at University of Chicago Medical Center, police said.
Another federal judge in Chicago who also has dismissed gun cases based on the same Supreme Court ruling says the high court’s decision in what’s known as the Bruen case will “inevitably lead to more gun violence, more dead citizens and more devastated communities.”
Women make up just 10% of those in careers such as green infrastructure and clean and renewable energy, a leader from Openlands writes. Apprenticeships and other training opportunities are some of the ways to get more women into this growing job sector.
Chatterbox doesn’t seem aware that it’s courteous to ask questions, seek others’ opinions.