A former ITAD (IT asset disposition) company employee has pleaded guilty to selling hundreds of stolen smartphones, laptop computers and other IT devices, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Columbia.
The defendant -- Nikhil Parekh, 37, of Randallstown, Maryland -- is scheduled to be sentenced in May 2025. At sentencing, he faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The ITAD company's name was not disclosed, and the company was not charged in the case.
ITAD services are particularly important to sustainable IT strategies and e-waste reduction programs. Legitimate ITAD services typically dismantle and recycle older IT devices. The ITAD service typically includes wiping and sanitizing digital storage devices in accordance with industry standards, the U.S. Attorney's Office noted.
Demand for ITAD services appears strong. Indeed, annual spending on ITAD is expected to reach $34 billion by 2030, up from $16.8 billion in 2022, according to Research and Markets. That's a 9.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), the researcher said.
Former ITAD Company Employee Stole Hundreds of IT Devices
But in this case particular, the defendant admitted that he and others took hundreds of IT devices with a value of at least $10,000.
The crimes occurred when Parekh was a driver for the ITAD company between 2019 and 2023. He and others would take IT assets that were set to be destroyed, and reroute them to electronics resellers. After pocketing the profits, Parekh and others would then cause the ITAD company to issue certificates to the victim customers -- certifying that the IT assets had been wiped and destroyed, when in fact those steps were not taken.
The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr., Chief J. Thomas Manger of the U.S. Capitol Police, and USAID Special Agent in Charge Sean Bottary of the USAID Office of Inspector General.
