A shocking incident unfolded at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as a Timberwolves executive had his hard drive stolen and duplicated by a disgruntled subordinate. Sachin Gupta, the head of the team’s analytics department, became the victim of this act, which has raised concerns about the security of sensitive information within the organization.
According to multiple reports, Somak Sarkar, a former employee of the Timberwolves, allegedly swiped Gupta’s hard drive from his office and later returned it after making copies of approximately 5,700 files. These files included valuable “strategic NBA information,” employee and player contracts, as well as Gupta’s personal financial and tax-related documents.
Sarkar, who was subsequently terminated from his position, was arrested on charges of burglary and felony third-degree burglary. He was released on $40,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday. Sarkar claimed to the police that he had taken the hard drive to “put some stuff on it” but had forgotten to return it, according to the criminal complaint.
The incident came to light when Gupta noticed his hard drive missing on February 5, two days after security footage captured Sarkar entering his office. Sarkar was fired on February 9 without explanation and escorted out of the building by security. Shortly after, another Timberwolves employee returned the stolen hard drive to Gupta. It was on March 4 that Gupta decided to involve law enforcement.
Court documents revealed that the animosity between Gupta and Sarkar had been brewing since Sarkar was reassigned from the analytics department in the summer of 2023 due to conflicts with his direct superior, along with coding errors and missed meetings.
Gupta expressed concerns that Sarkar might disseminate the proprietary Timberwolves information and his private data, prompting him to seek legal action. A search of Sarkar’s apartment led authorities to discover several hard drives, a computer, three tablets, and multiple USB drives. Police indicated that one of these devices contained the duplicated information from Gupta’s stolen hard drive.
While the Timberwolves organization is aware of the situation, they have stated that they do not plan on pressing criminal charges, as per ESPN. However, this incident has raised questions about the security measures in place to protect sensitive information within the team.
