Two twin brothers from Virginia have been taken into custody on charges related to the deletion of government databases managed by a federal contractor, the Department of Justice announced on Wednesday.

Muneeb and Sohaib Akhter, both aged 34, were indicted last month. The indictment alleges that they conspired to erase databases containing critical U.S. government information, according to a DOJ news release.

The arrests follow an investigation by Bloomberg News, which reported in May that the brothers had allegedly tampered with data from multiple federal agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service and the General Services Administration.

In a previous case from 2015, the Akhter brothers pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges relating to data breaches at both the State Department and a cosmetics company.

Photographs of Sohaib and Muneeb Akhter are available, courtesy of Getty Images.

Both served multiple years in prison before landing jobs as engineers for Opexus, a federal contractor that helps process U.S. government records.

Following their termination as federal contractors, the pair allegedly attempted to harm their former employer and its U.S. government customers by accessing computers without authorization, issuing commands to bar others from modifying the databases before they were removed, deleting databases, stealing information and destroying evidence of their activities, the DOJ said on Wednesday in the latest case against the two men.

In February, Muneeb Akhter deleted nearly 100 databases storing U.S. government information, with many of the databases containing Freedom of Information Act records administered by the federal government, as well as sensitive investigative files of federal government components, the indictment claims.

Muneeb and Sohaib Akhter, both 34, were indicted for allegedly conspiring to delete databases used to store U.S. government information. (iStock)

About a minute after deleting a DHS database, Muneeb Akhter allegedly asked an artificial intelligence tool how to clear system logs after deleting databases.

The brothers also talked about cleaning out their house in anticipation of a police search. The company laptops used by the pair were wiped before they were returned to the federal contractor.

Muneeb Akhter also allegedly obtained information from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission without authorization after he was fired from the contractor. He is also accused of having stolen copies of IRS information stored on a virtual machine, including federal tax information and other identifying information of at least 450 people.

The brothers previously served sentences in connection with data breaches at the State Department and a cosmetics company. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Sohaib Akhter is also accused in the indictment of trafficking in a password that could access a computer used by and for the U.S. government.

“These defendants abused their positions as federal contractors to attack government databases and steal sensitive government information. Their actions jeopardized the security of government systems and disrupted agencies’ ability to serve the American people,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the DOJ’s Criminal Division said in a statement.

Muneeb Akhter is charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud and to destroy records, two counts of computer fraud, theft of U.S. government records and two counts of aggravated identity theft. Sohaib Akhter is charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud and to destroy records and computer fraud.