Ex-VP Allegedly Sabotages Atlanta Company's PPE Shipment Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

The former vice president of a medical device packaging company was being accused of sabotaging a shipment of personal protective equipment (PPE) amid the coronavirus pandemic. The alleged sabotage was done weeks after he was fired.

Christopher Dobbins was previously the vice president of finance at Stradis Healthcare, a company that packaged and distributed protective equipment such as the ones being used by healthcare workers. According to ABC News, a sworn statement filed by an FBI agent noted Dobbins was disciplined in August and December of 2019 due to "conflicts" with other departments, and was fired on March 2.

Three days after Dobbins received his last paycheck on March 26, he allegedly used a fake user account he had made when he was still employed to create a second fake user account. He then used the second account to edit over 115,000 records and delete over 2,300 others before deactivating both fake accounts.

The hacking lasted for just 45 minutes, but this led to significant disruptions in the company's shipment of much needed PPEs, which were supposed to go throughout the southeast and New York area.

Because of this disruption, there were 24 to 74 hours delay in the PPE shipments; in the ideal situation the company would have been deliver on the same day. In total, the company notes about $5,000 in monetary losses due to the disruption.

According to Atlanta Journal Constitution, an internal investigation at Stradis led to suspicion on Dobbins due to his issues with the company. The FBI arrested and charged Dobbins after they traced the two fake accounts to Dobbins using his IP address.

"This defendant allegedly disrupted the delivery of personal protective equipment in the middle of a global pandemic," U.S. Attorney Byung J. "BJay" Pak said in a statement. "Scarce medical supplies should go to the healthcare workers and hospitals that need them during the pandemic."

The FBI was still investigating the case, which was a part of Georgia's Coronavirus (COVID-19) Fraud Task Force that aimed to protect citizens from criminal fraud resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

"The FBI is making it a priority during the worldwide pandemic to make sure crucial supplies are not being disrupted or diverted from the front lines of medical care," FBI Atlanta Special Agent Chris Hacker said.