Texas man tried to hijack $92,000 in computers, but feds were watching, officials say
.JPG "Maksims Klopov pleaded guilty to the theft of about $92,000 in computers intended for Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas, in a hijacking, officials say. Photo by Scott Berson")
A 22-year-old admitted to trying to hijack nearly $100,000 in computers intended for a Texas college, federal authorities say.
Maksims Klopovs pleaded guilty to theft from an interstate cargo shipment intended for Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas.
In June 2019, Klopovs arrived at a UPS warehouse and presented a driver’s license and college identification badge to an employee, authorities say. As he began loading 60 laptops worth about $92,000 into a U-Haul truck, Texas Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security agents who’d been watching appeared and took Klopovs into custody, authorities say.
Unknown to Klopovs, authorities had detected the shipping address was changed from the college to the warehouse — a technique used in other computer thefts throughout the country. So, agents had coordinated with UPS to alert them when someone arrived to claim the shipment.
Klopovs told investigators he received an email from an unknown person offering $1,000 to pick up the packages, return to his Houston apartment and await more instructions, authorities say. He said theperson sent him the fake driver’s license and college identification badge.
Klopovs could go to prison for up to 10 years.
This story was originally published January 11, 2021 at 7:12 PM with the headline "Texas man tried to hijack $92,000 in computers, but feds were watching, officials say."