Former govt contractor convicted for wiping dozens of federal databases

A 34-year-old Virginia man was found guilty of conspiring to destroy dozens of government databases after getting fired from his job as a federal contractor.

In 2016, Sohaib Akhter and his twin brother and co-defendant Muneeb Akhter were also sentenced to several years in prison after pleading guilty to accessing U.S. State Department systems without authorization and stealing the personal information of dozens of co-workers and a federal law enforcement agent who was investigating their crimes.

After serving their sentences, the two brothers were rehired as government contractors by a company that worked with more than 45 federal agencies and hosted government data on servers in Ashburn.

"When the company discovered Sohaib Akhter's felony conviction, it terminated both brothers' employment during an online remote meeting on Feb. 18, 2025," the Justice Department said. "Immediately after being fired during this meeting, the brothers sought to harm their employer and its U.S. government customers by accessing computers without authorization, write-protecting databases, deleting databases, and destroying evidence of their unlawful activities."

In November 2025, Muneeb and Sohaib were again charged with destruction of records, aggravated identity theft, computer fraud, and theft of government information.

According to court documents, the two brothers wiped roughly 96 government databases within several hours in February 2025, including sensitive investigative documents from multiple federal agencies and Freedom of Information Act records. Additionally, immediately after deleting a Department of Homeland Security database, they also allegedly asked an artificial intelligence assistant how to clear system logs.

Prosecutors added that they allegedly ran commands to prevent others from modifying the targeted databases before deletion, and destroyed evidence of their activities. The men also discussed cleaning out their house in anticipation of a potential law enforcement search and wiped company laptops before returning them to their employer.

"As proven at trial, Akhter participated in the unauthorized access of protected computer systems, the theft of credentials, and the destruction of government data affecting numerous federal agencies," said Inspector General Jennifer L. Fain of FDIC-OIG.

"The deliberate deletion of databases containing sensitive government information and the subsequent attempts to conceal that criminal activity demonstrated a blatant disregard for the security and integrity of federal information systems."

Sohaib Akhter will be sentenced on September 9, 2026, and is facing a maximum penalty of 21 years in prison.

His brother, Muneeb Akhter, also faces a maximum of 45 years for two counts of computer fraud, conspiring to commit computer fraud and destroy records, two counts of aggravated identity theft, and theft of U.S. government records.