Federal Jury Convicts Sohaib Akhter in US Government Database Deletion
Published on May 8, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Database deletion incident: Following employment termination, two brothers unlawfully deleted approximately 96 federal government databases.
- Federal jury conviction: Sohaib Akhter found guilty of computer fraud conspiracy, password trafficking, and illegal firearm possession.
- Sentencing schedule set: The individual faces a maximum statutory penalty of 21 years in prison at his September 9 hearing.
Sohaib Akhter of Alexandria, Virginia, was convicted on serious federal charges encompassing conspiracy to commit computer fraud, password trafficking, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Sohaib, 34, and his twin brother and co-defendant, Muneeb Akhter, were employed by a Washington, D.C.-based technology contractor that served more than 45 federal government agencies and hosted sensitive federal client data on enterprise servers in Ashburn, Virginia.
The contracting firm officially terminated both brothers on February 18, 2025, and they were arrested in December 2025. Soon after, the perpetrators deleted approximately 96 distinct databases containing critical U.S. government information.
EEOC Database Intrusion
Court records detail that on February 1, 2025, Muneeb requested the plaintext password of a complainant utilizing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Public Portal. In response to this request, Sohaib executed an unauthorized query against the primary EEOC database, extracted the requested credential, and provided it directly to his co-defendant.
The compromised information included case management and Freedom of Information Act response processing software. The pair accessed internal computer systems without authorization, write-protected administrative environments, deleted vital databases, and systematically destroyed forensic evidence of their intrusion.
“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.
Impending Federal Sentencing
Federal authorities have scheduled Sohaib Akhter's sentencing hearing for September 9. Following the jury's decision across these felony counts, the individual faces a maximum statutory penalty of 21 years in prison.
In June 2015, the men pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to access a protected computer without authorization, and conspiracy to access a government computer without authorization related to an attempt to access State Department systems.
October 2015 Muneeb was sentenced to more than 3 years in prison, while Sohaib received a 2-year sentence.
Earlier this year, Intellexa executives were sentenced in a Predator spyware scandal targeting 90+ individuals in Greece, including politicians and journalists, and former defense contractor Peter Williams was sentenced to 87 months in prison for selling trade secrets to Russia.
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