Stolen U.C. Berkeley Laptop Recovered

linuxwrangler writes "Following up on a previous Slashdot story, the laptop with personal data on 98,000 former U.C. Berkeley grad students which was stolen in March has been recovered. Shuki Alburati, A San Francisco State freshman who makes money selling computers and cell-phones online, says he bought the laptop for $300 from a woman who fits the description of the suspect in the original theft. The drive was reformatted and investigators can't tell if the personal info was accessed but they have believed all along that the thief was only interested in the computer. Alburati, who says he was suspicious of someone looking to sell an expensive laptop so cheaply, nonetheless took the woman's word that laptop was not stolen. He then resold the laptop on eBay for $1,159 - just $18,805 short of his bail after police arrested him."

Comments

Trust your instincts, Mr. Alburati.

[The Angry Mick]

Alburati, who says he was suspicious of someone looking to sell an expensive laptop so cheaply, nonetheless took the woman's word that laptop was not stolen.

Nice to see that, although his instinct is sharp as a tack, he stayed true to his business goals.

Methods

[gunpowda]

Forensic tests showed files on the laptop had been erased and written over with a new operating system installation

And they couldn't have just figured this out by turning the laptop on? Do you need forensic tests to work out that a new OS is on there?

His bail was $19,964?

[jeblucas]

He then resold the laptop on eBay for $1,159 - just $18,805 short of his bail after police arrested him."

Lemme see, carry the 1..., 9, yeah... hmm. What? Just a capricious judge?

"Bail is set, to, I don't know, $27,648.33. I'm a judge and I can do what I want."

Re:I'm confused

[myth_of_sisyphus]

One night around midnight on Market and 5th in San Francisco, a guy came up to me--he was totally tweaking and said he had a brand-new laptop that he needed to get rid of quickly. I looked at it and it was a Sony Vaio laptop box completely shrinkwrapped with a UPC code sticker on it.

He wanted $200 and I said I had $50 but I wanted to open it. We sat down at a bus stop and I proceeded to open it. He said "Oh shit, cops cops cops...give me the money quick." I gave him the money and walked away. He went the other direction. I went home and opened it.

Guess what was in it? Newspaper wrapped around a block of wood. It had the right heft and it was shrinkwrapped.

I laughed--chalked it up to experience and went on with my life. I saw him later trying the same scam and I kind of smiled to myself. Dumb dum dum dum.

Feedback

[Chairboy]

I think the real question here is, did he receive positive or negative feedback once the transaction was complete?

$19,964?

[Geoffreyerffoeg]

He then resold the laptop on eBay for $1,159 - just $18,805 short of his bail after police arrested him.

What kind of judge sets a bail at $19,964? Is this the Walmart Court? *pictures what the Walmart Court would be*

"Always Low Bails." "We're Rolling Back (tm) your execution date!"

Re:$19,964?

[JM Apocalypse]

It's $18,999.95 Plus Tax.