A victim in the recent Greenough thefts said that one of the students being investigated by the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) tried to frame him for faking the theft of his own computer.

Brian M. Wan ’05 and Michael D. Wang ’05 were questioned by HUPD officers last week regarding several thefts, including the theft of a laptop computer and palm pilots, from Greenough Hall this spring.

Wan has since left Harvard and Wang remains on campus but has moved out of his Greenough residence into a room in Canaday, according to several students.

No charges or arrests have been made, as the victims and Harvard weigh whether to press criminal charges or deal with the matter through the College’s Administrative Board.

Wang and college administrators declined to comment on the allegations. Wan could not be reached for comment.

The victim, whose IBM T-22 laptop was stolen on March 13, characterized his relationship with Wan, who lived in his dorm, as somewhat brotherly—it wasn’t unusual for Wan to play practical jokes on him, he said.

As recently as a week-and-a-half before, Wan left his Greenough residence with HUPD officers, the victim said he spent two hours helping Wan to prepare for a math exam.

The victim, who requested anonymity, said that he and Wang —whom he called Wan’s “sidekick”—were acquaintances.

The Computer Incident

In an interview this week with the Crimson, the victim said that he believes the string of thefts began on March 13.

Wan, a member of the varsity tennis team, was rushing to the subway station to travel with the team to Alabama, and asked the victim if he would pay Wan’s phone bill.

The victim agreed to help Wan and the two left Greenough together. When the victim returned from paying the bill several minutes later, he said he noticed his laptop computer missing.

The victim said he saw Wang playing video games in Wan’s room, and, when asked, Wang said he had not noticed anyone take the computer.

He said he never suspected that Wan and Wang played a role in the theft.

The victim filed a police report, and waited for his new computer to arrive on April 1.