Timberwolves exec’s hard drive stolen by former employee: Charges

Ex-Timberwolves employee accused of stealing

A former Minnesota Timberwolves employee is accused of stealing a hard drive that belongs to top-level executive Sachin Gupta, potentially stealing info off it in the process.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Earlier this year, a high-ranking executive with the Minnesota Timberwolves had their hard drive stolen, according to charges against the former employee who police say took it.

Somak Sarkar, 23, of Minneapolis is charged with third-degree burglary for his involvement in a scheme that police say allegedly involved both the hard drive itself and the files on it.

According to court documents, Minnesota Timberwolves Executive Vice President Sachin Gupta supervised Sarkar until August 2023, when he was transferred due to job performance.

On Feb. 2, Gupta left a hard drive connected to his laptop in his office that contained both personal and professional information – the latter of which included Timberwolves employment and player contracts, as well as "strategic NBA information."

Gupta has been with the Timberwolves since 2019, when President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas brought him aboard as executive vice president – the front office's No. 2 position. He became the interim head of basketball operations for the 2021-22 season.

Target Center, January 2020/File photo (David Berding / Getty Images)

According to charges, employee badge information showed that Sarkar entered the Timberwolves offices on Feb. 3, when no other employees were there. He then went into Gupta’s closed office – twice to see if anyone was present – before taking the hard drive and leaving.

On Feb. 5, Gupta returned to find the hard drive gone. Security surveillance showed Sarkar allegedly taking the device, and he was then fired, charges say.
Another employee was later able to recover the hard drive from Sarkar, according to charges.

But when team officials placed the hard drive under forensic analysis, they found that more than 5,000 files had been accessed and downloaded onto another device.

On March 18, police executed a search warrant at Sarkar’s home, where they say they found several hard drives, USBs, a computer, and three tablets – one of which contained the info from Gupta’s stolen hard drive.

When interviewed by police, Sarkar said that he, "had the hard drive to ‘put some stuff on it’ and forgot to return it," according to charges.