Last fall, federal agents searched the home of a former University of Charleston student who was expelled over allegations that he stole thousands of dollars worth of textbooks and computer equipment from the school and sold them online under the name Robin Hood Literature.
A federal search warrant unsealed last week details why agents searched the home of Adam St. Clair, of Sherwood Road in Charleston, in November.
In an affidavit, FBI Special Agent James Harrison II wrote that he was investigating "criminal wrongdoing that took place at the University of Charleston" between September 2014 and September 2015. Several UC teachers reported textbooks, Apple TVs and computers being stolen from locked offices in university buildings, according to the affidavit.
There is no record of any criminal charges filed against St. Clair. Assistant U.S. Attorney Clint Carte said Wednesday he couldn't comment on the status of the case.
Harrison wrote that on one Saturday in September 2014, St. Clair was seen coming out of the office belonging to Karen Hoschar, a UC assistant professor. When Hoschar returned on Monday, she found that someone had accessed her computer in her locked office, using the log-in for another UC assistant professor, Hannah Johnson, who denied ever using the computer.
In May 2015, school employees discovered a "keystroke logger" - a device that, when plugged into a computer, records what people type - inside a computer cabinet in UC's Clay Tower, according to the affidavit. UC's information technology department allegedly restored some deleted data on the device and found it had recorded log-in information for several UC students and professors.
In August 2015, "two UC employees, who had learned of the multiple thefts of textbooks from offices on the UC campus, undertook a broad search of internet vendors that were offering for sale textbooks like those that had been stolen on the UC campus," Harrison wrote in the affidavit.
The employees found a store on Amazon.com named "Robin Hood Literature," where they found many of the same textbook titles that had recently been stolen from UC's campus, according to the filing.
"The site also offered for sale several pieces of electronic equipment of descriptions similar to electronic equipment that had recently been stolen from offices and rooms inside buildings on the UC campus," Harrison wrote. The email address associated with the online store was "amsaintclai@gmail.com."
A UC professor learned of the site and ordered a textbook like one that had been stolen from her office. When the package containing the textbook was delivered, the return address was St. Clair's Sherwood Road home, according to the affidavit.
UC security personnel confronted St. Clair on Sept. 24. According to the affidavit, St. Clair had a keystroke logger identical to the one found in the cabinet; two thumb drives; a "swipe card" used to gain entrance around the campus; and four metal door keys to UC buildings, the affidavit states.
The next day, St. Clair allegedly returned college textbooks, electronic equipment and other items which were later determined to have been stolen from buildings on campus, according to the federal filing. UC officials estimate St. Clair returned about $30,000 worth of items. St. Clair made two trips to the school to bring back the property, UC officials told Harrison.
"On the first trip, St. Clair stated ... 'There was more than I thought. I guess I got carried away,'" the affidavit states. "After making the first delivery, Adam St. Clair telephoned [security officials] and said 'I found more stuff at home. Can I bring it by after work?'"
That day, St. Clair - who could not be reached for comment this week - was expelled from UC and banned from the campus, according to the affidavit.
UC spokesman David Traube said Wednesday that he could confirm only that St. Clair is no longer a student at the school "and there is an ongoing legal situation surrounding it."
"Any further information on him or with his situation would have to be handled or commented on by law enforcement officials," Traube said.
Someone using St. Clair's log-in accessed or tried to access the UC network more than 20 times after he was expelled, the filing states.
In November, U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl Eifert granted Harrison's request for a warrant to search St. Clair's home.
Federal agents found about 100 textbooks there, according to federal court documents. Agents also confiscated computer equipment and other items from the Sherwood Road home.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.