Five Men Charged in $37M NAND Flash Heist at Unigen Corp
Five men have been charged in a $37 million armed heist at a technology firm that authorities called the largest computer chip robbery ever in the San Francisco Bay area — one of the nation’s tech hotspots. The men were arrested after as many as 15 people armed with rifles and handguns and wearing gloves and masks stormed a loading dock at Unigen Corp. on Feb. 27. The robbers tied up several employees and locked them in a room before spending a half-hour loading flash memory chips into a truck.
The men then began raiding computer chips and loading them into a large truck. The employees were not injured and were able to remove the restraints to call police afterward. As part of its investigation, Fremont police enlisted the help of the Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team, or REACT, a high-tech crimes unit of the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. The investigation led to the recovery of nearly 1.5 million — or 98 percent — of the stolen chips locally and in Asia. The remaining 2% of chips that weren’t recovered are believed to have been shipped to China. The chips are worth an average of $22 each.
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