Absorbing crime: Illinois man convicted of six-figure iPhone theft

Apple Store in Park City

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The latest below AppleInsider series, which looks at the world of Apple-related crimes.

A 30-year-old man from Illinois was convicted in mid-October to five years in prison for his involvement in a scheme that involved stealing between $500,000 and $1 million in a scheme that involved buying iPhones with his company’s funds and then selling them.

The man was working in IT for a facilities support company when he committed the thefts, which occurred between 2019 and 2021. He pleaded guilty in September.

Authorities in Durham, NC are looking for what they say is a man committed the armed robbery of an AT&T store in June. According to CBS 17, a man pulled a gun on employees and took 65 iPhones from the store. He forced the employees to lie on the ground and even got one store worker to help him carry the stolen iPhones to the car.

The warrant also said the man’s car was seen at the scene of another T-Mobile store robbery a few days later.

The “Baby Bee” Joelly balloon, a popular attraction, was stolen in early October. But the iPad was instrumental in the recovery of the bubble.

COAT reports that the truck containing the balloon was stolen from an Albuquerque hotel. But because the iPad was left in the truck, police were able to track it to a location in southwest Albuquerque.

The balloon soon returned to flight.

A rookie police officer in the New York Police Department has been charged from theft a pair of AirPods from a Manhattan restaurant manager and was caught on camera doing it.

According to New York Post, a 36-year-old police officer was charged with petty theft and possession of stolen property. The arrest followed an internal affairs investigation.

A group of 13 women were having a “hen do” – bachelor party – in Spain when they were robbed by a gang 50,000 euros worth her stuff. The sun reports that women used Find My iPhone to track stolen AirPods belonging to one of them. They told the story on TikTok:

51-year-old male was arrested in Georgia in early October after he was charged with car burglaries in Kentucky, and the AirPods he took were traced to multiple states.

According to The Times-Tribune, the man’s crimes also included the theft in Tennessee of an Enterprise rental car, which he painted and changed the keys. He was caught after a chase in the woods after being recognized at Walmart and additionally charged with public intoxication.

An iPhone that was stolen from someone in the UK has turned up in Nigeria– and whoever has the phone now has been texting the owner’s friends asking for information to unlock it. Legit it says that the person sending the messages is probably not the original thief and is more likely someone who bought the phone afterwards.

Police in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, are exploring what they call “access device fraud” at the Park City Center Apple Store on September 23rd. Crime Watch PAa man stole a Chase credit card and bought two 16-inch MacBook Pros at the store.

He then tried to use the same card, plus another one belonging to the same victim, in an attempt to purchase two $2,000 Apple gift cards.

Also in Lancaster County, police say a group of thieves “communicated via Apple AirPods” during the theft of more than $1,000 worth of shirts from Vineyard Vines. Local 21 News reports that the same group attempted to rob the same store a second time, but were stopped by employees there.

The man took three iPhones from a Boost Mobile store in northwest Miami-Dade in early October, prompting the store manager to give chase. Per WSVNemployees suspect the same thief is responsible for other recent thefts, including at other Boost Mobile stores.