Former Homeland Security Chief Stole Software, Databases From Government: U.S. Attorney

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — A former acting Branch Chief of the Information Technology Division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was convicted by a jury on Monday. Authorities claimed that Murali Venkata, an Aldie resident, stole software and sensitive databases from the federal government.

Venkata was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government, theft of government property, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and obstruction. The U.S. Attorney's Office said Venkata stole confidential software from the government along with the personal information of hundreds of thousands of employees.

Authorities said Venkata worked for the Department of Homeland Security from 2010 until 2017 when he was charged. The U.S. Attorney's Office said Venkata worked with two other homeland security employees to steal the personal information.

One co-conspirator, Sonal Patel, pleaded guilty in 2019. A second co-conspirator, Charles Edwards, pleaded guilty in January 2022.

In his guilty plea, Patel told officials that he stole software in an attempt to develop a commercial version to sell to government agencies.

Prosecutors said that Venkata took software and databases from the Department of Homeland Security and helped Edwards set up computer servers in his home. The servers allowed developers in India to work on a commercial version of the government's software.

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