September 14, 2006
Media contact: Jeff Schrade (202)224-9093

(Washington, DC) A computer stolen in early August from a private contractor containing the names, Social Security numbers and other personal information of approximately 16,000 veterans has been recovered and a 21 year old man, Khalil Abdullah-Raheem, has been arrested.

"The recovery of the computer is a shining moment for both the FBI and Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This is the second time law enforcement has come through. Let's hope there is no need for a third time," said U.S. Senator Larry Craig, who chairs the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. "I am told that this is not related to the war in Iraq or to terrorism. It appears to be a simple theft. Investigators believe the alleged thief took the customized computer in order to record music."

Abdullah-Raheem, a resident of Washington, DC, was charged Wednesday in federal court for stealing government property. A judge released him after he posted a $50,000 bond.

FBI analysts are continuing to conduct a forensic analysis of the computer and investigators have indicated that they believe data on the computer was not the target of the theft. The information on the stolen computer was confined primarily to veterans being served in Pennsylvania.

The recovered computer was stolen from a Unisys Corporation facility located in Reston, Virginia. The alleged thief was working there temporarily as a building maintenance employee. The company had been offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the recovery of a missing desktop computer.

Since the theft of the desktop computer in August, and the theft of a laptop computer containing information on millions of veterans and active duty personnel in May, VA officials have taken steps to address computer security breakdowns.

The agency has contracted with SMS, Inc., to provide encryption technology for all laptop and desktop computers in the Department of Veterans Affairs inventory. The agency has also contracted with ID Analytics to provide data analysis of information on veterans which may have been made public by the thefts of two VA computers.

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