A Brooklyn, New York man was arrested today for allegedly entering a laboratory business on false pretenses and destroying and stealing that business’ equipment, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
According to U.S. Attorney Sellinger, Eric Leykin, 31, of Brooklyn, New York, is charged by complaint with wire fraud and accessing a protected computer without authorization and recklessly causing damage.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Leykin was the CEO of a clinical reference laboratory based in New Jersey. Leykin’s laboratory competed against the victim business, another clinical reference laboratory also based in New Jersey.
On June 30, Leykin bought a prepaid mobile phone and called an employee of the victim business, claiming to be a technician with a vendor that the victim business used to service its laboratory equipment.
On that false pretense, Leykin scheduled an appointment with the victim business’ employee to supposedly service some of the victim business’ laboratory equipment.
On July 1, the date of the supposed service appointment, Leykin went to the victim business and proceeded to destroy a significant amount of the victim business’ laboratory and computer equipment, in at least one instance doing so with a USB kill stick device.
Leykin also stole multiple hard drives housed within the victim business’ equipment.