The Apple Store in Beavercreek, Ohio
Shawn Kemp agrees to a plea deal in iPhone-related shooting, iCloud evidence is used in crypto indictment, and a stolen iPhone ends up in China in this week’s Apple Crime Blotter.
The latest in an occasional AppleInsider series, looking at the world of Apple-related crime.
Chinese national sentenced in Target iPad scam
A 24-year-old Chinese citizen has been sentenced for his part in a scam that entailed “returning” 140 counterfeit iPads to Target locations in Washington State.
According to The Tri-City Herald, the scheme netted the man and his girlfriend $163,000 in fraudulent refunds, which they received in the form of gift cards. They sometimes used the gift cards to buy more iPads to replace with counterfeits. Some of the purchases were made in California.
Per the report, he will likely be deported upon finishing his sentence- possibly to a country other than China.
Shawn Kemp pleads guilty in shooting over iPhone
Retired NBA star Shawn Kemp has agreed to a plea bargain, pleading guilty to second-degree assault in connection with a March 2023 shooting in Tacoma, WA. Kemp’s attorney had said at the time that the former Seattle SuperSonic shot in self-defense against two men who Kemp believed had stolen his iPhone.
Sentencing is in August, and prosecutors have recommended he receive nine months in jail, plus one year of Department of Corrections supervision, ESPN.com reported.
A dozen people charged in Crypto-theft indictment involved iCloud evidence
The Justice Department on May 15 charged 12 people for their part in what prosecutors call a $263 million “cyber-enabled racketeering conspiracy” involving the theft of cryptocurrency.
It is a superseding indictment, and others had been charged previously.
The conspiracy, prosecutors say, had many moving parts. This ranged from hacking to phishing to home break-ins.
In at least one instance, one of the alleged conspirators got access to a target’s iCloud account in order to track his location. Charges include RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice.
A stolen iPhone’s journey from a Charlotte honky tonk to China
A woman in North Carolina had her iPhone stolen from The Rose Honky Tonk bar in Charlotte. Within days, it was in Shenzhen, China.
According to WRAL, a thief “pickpocketed” the iPhone, and she tracked it first to Miami and eventually to China. It’s part of nearly 40 recent reported thefts from a “cluster of bars” in Charlotte’s south end.
The Financial Times reported in mid-May about the “stolen iPhone building” in Shenzhen, although it’s not clear if that’s where the phone from the bar theft ended up.
News crew confronts man with guns near Pasadena Apple Store
A KTLA news crew was setting up a live shot outside the Apple Store in Pasadena when they confronted an “agitated man” who was carrying several long cases. On the phone with someone while discussing a custody dispute, the man opened the cases to display several long guns.
The man then began asking passersby if they wanted to see his guns.
Per the news station’s account, the TV station employees called police. They arrived and, after a brief scuffle, took the man into custody.
They said he had an outstanding warrant.
Woman sought for using stolen credit card at Ohio Apple Store
Police in Beavercreek, Ohio, are seeking a woman who allegedly used a stolen credit card in April at the Apple Store in that city.
The Beavercreek Police Department’s post
According to WHIO, police say the woman used a stolen credit card to make a purchase.
Ohio man charged with tracking ex with AirTag
Police in Goshen, Ohio, arrested a man and charged him with tracking his former girlfriend with an Apple AirTag.
WFMJ reports the woman notified police after receiving pings that showed her location was being tracked. After she texted the man, he admitted placing the AirTag, due to concerns she was “seeing other people.”
She notified police, along with screenshots of the text message to be used as evidence against him.
In December, Ohio passed a bill to specifically ban stalking via AirTags and other similar devices.
Woman’s iPhone was stolen as she performed CPR on her brother
A woman in the U.K. who was performing CPR on her brother after a motorbike accident had her iPhone stolen while doing so.
According to Birmingham Live, this happened in Coventry on May 16. She had given her iPhone 12 to a police officer, who put it on a car roof, from which it disappeared.
Efforts to resuscitate the brother were unsuccessful.
“We are working to find the phone and are keen for it to be returned to its rightful owner,” a West Midlands Police spokesman told the media.
