Siblings Plead Guilty In Theft Of $4 Million In MacBooks From Stanford
SACRAMENTO (CBS SF) -- A former Stanford web project manager pleaded guilty Monday to stealing and selling millions of dollars worth of MacBooks stolen from the university.
Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert said 37-year-old Patricia Castaneda, 37, of San Carlos, pleaded guilty to federal program theft. She faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
In a related but separate case, her brother, 36-year-old Eric Castaneda, of Redwood City, pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport stolen property interstate. He now faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
According to court documents, Patricia Castaneda's duties at Stanford included ordering Apple MacBooks for university faculty and staff. She worked with departments and programs across the university to create websites.
In 2009 or 2010, federal prosecutors said, Patricia Castaneda began stealing MacBooks she was ordering and selling them for cash.
Initially, Patricia Castaneda sold the stolen MacBooks to an individual she met on Craigslist. In February 2016, Patricia Castaneda began giving the stolen MacBooks to her brother to sell to an individual in Folsom.
Federal prosecutors said the cost to Stanford of stolen MacBooks was over $4 million. That amount includes the approximately $2.3 million that Eric Castaneda received from selling 800 stolen MacBooks to the buyer in Folsom.
