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Home > Blogs > Dayton Courts: Legal and crime news > Archives > 2010 > April > 26 > Entry
Former Wilberforce employee guilty of computer thefts
DAYTON — A former Wilberforce University employee admitted Monday, April 26, to stealing computer equipment purchased with a federal grant and selling it through his Internet business.
James Marshall, 28, a former network and data administrator in the school’s Information Technology Services Department, appeared before U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose and pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property.
The university received a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy in 2005 to create an advanced disaster modeling and simulation laboratory. Marshall began to work on the grant in October 2005, eventually becoming Strategic Director of Research and Information Systems for the grant. In this position, Marshall was responsible for procuring all computer hardware and software for the grant, according to court records.
The grant budget for July 2005 through July 2006 included $200,000 for high speed networking and simulation laboratory; $30,000 for high resolution projector and screen; $100,000 for simulation software; $50,000 for statistical software; $110,900 for high speed computers and laptops; and $100,000 for software development and expert system shells. In November 2005, Marshall instructed vendors to ship merchandise directly to him, according to court records.
In March 2007, the Wilberforce Information and Technology Department staff conducted a preliminary visual inventory of equipment located in the Lab. They discovered approximately 103 hard drives and other computer equipment missing from the Lab, according to court records.
The staff also determined that some of the same items were observed being sold on an eBay site belonging to Marshall. The university dismissed Marshall after the theft was discovered, according to court records.
Theft of government property is punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Marshall also agreed to make restitution to the Department of Energy for the items he stole. Rose had not set a sentencing date as of late Monday.
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