Weymouth Man Charged with Stealing $100,000 in Laptops from Former Employer

BOSTON, MA - A Weymouth man stolen 105 work laptops valued at over $1,000 each, prosecutors said.

Donald Uggiano, 53, was arranged in Suffolk Country District Court Wednesday. He was charged with two counts of larceny over $250 and a single count of larceny over $250 by a single scheme. He was released on his own recognizance.

In court, Assistant District Attorney George Barker said that Uggiano had worked in the information technology department of John Hancock Financial Services from February 2013 until the company discovered the thefts in January 2015. During that time, Uggiano had key-card access to a storeroom where new Dell laptops were kept before they were distributed to employees for use.

On Jan. 20, 2015, it was discovered that six laptops placed in the room five days earlier were missing from the storeroom. Company records indicated that Uggiano’s access badge was then used to gain access to the room on Jan. 16 and Jan. 19, when the office was closed in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr., Day.

Surveillance cameras on Jan. 16 captured Uggiano entering and exiting the room at various times. At one point he entered empty-handed and exited with a laptop carrying case. In a second, he was seen entering and exiting with a carrying case, and in a third entering with a computer bag and exiting carrying the bag and two boxes identical to those used to ship the stolen laptops, prosecutors said.

On Jan. 19, Uggiano was captured on camera entering the room wearing a backpack; the backpack appeared fuller in images captured as Uggiano exited the storeroom shortly thereafter, prosecutors alleged.

A subsequent review by the company revealed that 105 laptops – each purchased by the company since March 2014 at a cost of more than $1,000 each – were missing. None of the computers contained client or account information.

The company notified Boston Police of the theft and assisted in the investigation.

In interviews with a company investigator and later with Boston Police, Uggiano allegedly provided inconsistent explanations of why he had taken the computers and what he had done with them, prosecutors said. He allegedly made statements to police admitting to the theft of up to 38 of the missing laptops.

Uggiano is due back in court March 8.

Information used in this article was provided by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Arrests and charges mentioned do not imply conviction.