Two Fairfax County Public Schools employees and the truck driver of a recycling business have been charged with stealing up to 35,000 laptops belonging to the public school system. 

Detectives for Fairfax County Police say in a release that the laptops have an estimated value of more than $2 million and were being stored in a warehouse in Springfield, where they were set to be auctioned off. 

In March, police received a tip that the laptops were being “illegally reallocated” to the warehouse, according to the release. On multiple occasions detectives saw a box truck receiving the laptops there without the necessary paperwork. 

On July 14, police conducted a traffic stop and found the stolen laptops inside the truck. The driver, Fadi Atiyeh, 36, was then arrested and charged with receiving stolen property and larceny with the intent to distribute.

Further investigation found the box truck was registered to Attyah Computer Recycling of Ashburn, which employed Atiyeh. A search warrant at the recycling business found additional evidence of the stolen laptops.

Later that day, detectives arrested two warehouse employees. Franque Minor II, 35, and Mario Jones Jr., 21, were charged with embezzlement and larceny with the intent to distribute. Both men were employed by Fairfax County Public Schools.

Atiyeh’s lawyer was not immediately available for comment. Online court records did not list an attorney for either Jones or Minor. An individual answering the phone for Attyah Computer Recycling declined any knowledge of the situation or Atiyeh, stating that the “police must have made a mistake.”

All three individuals were released on their own recognizance and have a scheduled court hearing for September 14.