Apple products are stolen out of a moving truck on a highway, a woman is sentenced in an iPhone theft ring, and an iCloud search brings down a check fraud ring in this week’s Apple Crime Blotter.
The latest in an occasional AppleInsider series, looking at the world of Apple-related crime.
Two sentenced in 21-state AirPod theft scheme
Two women have entered guilty pleas and been sentenced to 20 years each for their part in a multi-state scheme. One that involved fraudulent purchases of AirPods from Target and Walmart locations.
The scam took place over two years, touching on 21 different states.
According to the district attorney’s office in Georgia’s Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit, the two women “stole nearly $141,000 in merchandise in 187 incidents.”
The scheme had several parts, according to the prosecutors. The perpetrators would buy AirPods with cash, replace them with lower-value items, reseal the packages, return the product for cash, and sometimes separately sell the real AirPods, also for cash.
Charged under the state’s RICO Act, the two women were each sentenced to 20 years, ten of them to be served in prison. After Target and Walmart’s investigation units participated in the investigation, both were banned from Walmart and Target locations.
Apple Watches and MacBooks stolen out of moving truck on highway
Two men are accused of stealing $287,737 worth of Apple Watches and MacBooks out of a trailer while it was being hauled on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
According to ABC 27, the driver of the truck “reported seeing multiple vehicles following him, and when he merged onto the Turnpike, he noticed no one was passing him.” Later, cars pulled up both in front of and behind him, and when the truck arrived at a rest area, the driver noticed the seal to the trailer was broken.
The two suspects were hit with felony charges of theft and conspiracy and a misdemeanor charge of recklessly endangering another person.
Woman avoids jail for role in iPhone theft ring
An Indiana woman accused of taking part in a ring that stole more than 150 iPhones from an Amazon warehouse has been sentenced, with the two-year prison sentence suspended. She was also ordered to pay $7,165 to Amazon.
WANE reports the woman and her boyfriend worked together at the Amazon warehouse and carried out the thefts, selling the iPhone 15 boxes for a total value of $138,094. Her boyfriend was sentenced to six years, which was also suspended, and ordered to pay $88,000.
Two other men accused of involvement in the ring were charged, with one already sentenced and the other set to stand trial.
Man sentenced in Pennsylvania iPad package theft scheme
A Brooklyn man who used a fake name to intercept packages containing $22,000 worth of iPads has been sentenced to 23 months in jail.
According to North Penn Now, the 44-year-old man used the alias “Ryan Buckman” to intercept seven packages containing 35 iPads, which were headed to a technical school in Bucks County.
The man had pled guilty in February to charges of felony attempted theft by deception, and misdemeanor charges of forgery and possessing an instrument of crime. Other charges were dropped as part of the plea deal, including racketeering, tampering with public records, conspiracy to commit racketeering, forgery, and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity.
iCloud search brings down check fraud ring
The disappearance of a check that a man sent to a car loan company led to an investigation into an iCloud account. One which brought down a large financial fraud operation that spanned multiple states.
According to News4Jax, the man noticed the discrepancy with the $18,186 check and it launched an investigation. Eventually, detectives discovered that the check and another had been deposited into a different man’s account.
A search warrant was obtained for that man’s iCloud account, uncovering evidence of a massive fraud ring, which included pictures of credit cards, online banking credentials, Social Security numbers, and other information. Also found in the iCloud account was “instructions on how to file fraudulent tax returns to receive inflated tax refunds, along with instructions on how to commit loan fraud.”
He is facing charges that include counterfeiting checks, passing forged checks, illegal use of other people’s identification, and money laundering.
$220 worth of Apple gift cards stolen
Pennsylvania State Police areinvestigating the theft of $220 in Apple gift cards from the BP Finishing Lane in Beaver Township on May 4.
According to NorthCentralPA.com, no suspects have yet been identified.
USPS employee pleads guilty to stealing mail, including AirPods
After a customer’s delivery of AirPods arrived with the AirPods themselves missing, an investigation traced the missing product to the home of a U.S. Postal Service employee.
The Miami Herald writes that, after she was caught on camera stealing mail, the USPS employee pleaded guilty to a federal charge of stealing from the mail and has been sentenced to three years of probation.
Theft ring is busted in Nigeria
The Sokoto State Police Command in Nigeria has taken apart a “notorious theft syndicate” that stole an iPhone, among other items.
According to Punch, investigators worked their way through the ring, eventually uncovering a “staggering haul” at one alleged participant’s home: “eight bags of rice, a new generator, a Samsung tablet, 15 male kaftans, an iPhone 14, three sets of jewelry, 22 wrappers, lace materials, baby clothes, and other personal effects.”