A stolen laptop with personal data for more than 98,000 current and former UC Berkeley students has been recovered with no evidence of identity theft, and a college student has been charged with buying the computer from the thief -- and selling it for profit on Ebay, university officials said Thursday.
Shuki Alburati, 18, a City College of San Francisco freshman, is accused of buying a computer from a woman who stole it from a UC Berkeley office in March. Alburati then sold the laptop over the Internet to an unsuspecting South Carolina man.
An analysis of the computer at a Silicon Valley forensic lab revealed that it had been reformatted, making it hard to determine whether anyone had accessed the names and Social Security numbers of 98,369 graduate students, graduate school applicants and other individuals, including those who received doctoral degrees as far back as 1976.
But university spokeswoman Janet Gilmore said Thursday, "There's nothing in the Police Department investigation that points to any type of identity theft or credit card theft."
Alburati, who specializes in selling laptops and cell phones online, told The Chronicle on Thursday that he didn't know the new IBM X40 worth $2,429 had been stolen from an unlocked office at UC Berkeley. He blamed his plight on a woman who sold him the computer in April for only $300 or $340 during a transaction outside his apartment on Leavenworth Street in San Francisco.
"It's unfair," said Alburati, a business student who has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of receiving stolen property. "I didn't know it was stolen. She should stop what she's doing because she'll get caught eventually."
The woman hasn't been identified, and Alburati said he didn't know her name. But he described her as African American, about 5 feet 2 inches tall and 200 pounds, with short, straight hair, which fits the description of a woman in her 40s who was spotted leaving a Graduate Division employee's fourth-floor office in Sproul Hall shortly before 1 p.m. March 11, university officials said.
On April 14, Alburati said he received a phone call from a man who saw his ad on Craigslist, the popular online bulletin board where people post job listings, sell things and look for dates.
The man said his mother had a laptop she wanted to sell. A couple of days later, the woman double-parked on his street and sold him the computer after saying it wasn't stolen.
"The whole transaction only took about one minute," Alburati said in a statement to police. "She seemed suspicious, because she sold me an expensive laptop for such a low price. If the laptop was stolen, I did not know about it. I just took her word for it."
Alburati said he didn't remember if he had reformatted the laptop, although he would usually do so if a computer contained personal files.
On April 19, Alburati placed the laptop for sale on Ebay, the online auction site, where his posting read, "I sell almost all laptops that exist. I sell new, old, used, broken, working, you name it!"
By the end of the week, the winning bidder in South Carolina bought the computer for $1,195.50, although Alburati later refunded him $200 because the laptop didn't use Bluetooth technology as Alburati had advertised. The South Carolina man installed a new operating system on the computer.
UC Berkeley police tracked down the computer on June 1 and retrieved it with the help of police in South Carolina. Police arrested Alburati on June 8 on suspicion of two felony counts of receiving stolen property, and he was jailed in lieu of $20,000 bail. The next day, however, prosecutors lodged a single misdemeanor count against him.
Alburati is scheduled for trial Sept. 30 before Superior Court Judge Michael Gaffey in Oakland.
E-mail Henry K. Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com.
UC Berkeley

San Francisco police have recovered a laptop stolen on March 11 from the University of California, Berkeley. The laptop was left unattended in the Graduate Division and contained personal information on 98,369 graduate students and applicants going as far back as 1976. This information included names, birth dates, addresses, and Social Security numbers.

The Silicon Valley forensic lab which analyzed the laptop said it had been reformatted, making it very difficult to determine if the data had been accessed. "There's nothing in the Police Department investigation that points to any type of identity theft or credit card theft" said university spokeswoman Janet Gilmore.

The laptop was stolen by an unknown woman, who sold it to Shuki Alburati, who sold the laptop to an unsuspecting South Carolina man.  Shuki Alburati was arrested on June 8 for receiving stolen property; he has been charged with one misdemeanor count. 

He claims he didn't know the laptop, a new IBM X40 worth $2,429, was stolen. He purchased the laptop from the woman, who said it wasn't stolen, for $300 or $340. A few days later, on April 19, he placed the laptop on eBay. The winning bidder was a man in South Carolina  who bought the laptop for $1,195.50. Police have said this man is not a suspect. Police were alerted by IBM after the man called IBM for tech support.

Shuki Alburati has pleaded not guilty. He claimed "It's unfair, I didn't know it was stolen." His trial is scheduled for Sept. 30 before Superior Court Judge Michael Gaffey in Oakland. The woman who stole the laptop has not yet been found.