![]() ![]() The crime shows how in the digital age, traditional smash-and-grab robberies are being superseded by more sophisticated schemes - and how technology companies' own tools can be used against them.Īpple, currently valued at $2.4 trillion, has some of the most valuable stores in the world. They are awaiting sentencing in the coming weeks. The case has quietly spent the last few years winding its way through the courts, according to documents reviewed by Insider, and both men have now pleaded guilty to wire fraud in the Southlake store caper (earlier filings by prosecutors allege a series of similar incidents at various Apple stores). In a shrewd scheme worthy of a heist movie, they executed their plan using Apple's own technology - in particular, Apple retail store employees' specialized devices. The pair were part of a sophisticated, multi-year plot that defrauded Apple out of more than $1.5 million, US prosecutors have said. One cool and cloudy day in the Texan suburb of Southlake, Jason Tout-Puissant sat outside the local Apple Store and quietly stole $50,000-worth of gift cards from Apple.ġ,500 miles away in New York, his partner-in-crime Syed Ali walked into an Apple Store the same day and used those digital gift cards to acquire thousands of dollars' worth of high-end electronics.Īnd then, prosecutors say, they did it again, over and over and over. Two people have pleaded guilty to an incident at a Texas Apple store, and are now awaiting sentencing in the coming weeks.The scheme involved stealing Apple's employee-only handheld sales devices and sending gift cards to an accomplice, prosecutors say.Tech-savvy scammers figured out a clever way to steal Apple gift cards in a scheme that authorities says totaled $1.5 million over two years. ![]() The whole thing was caught on cellphone video, as seen below.Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. One of the suspects reportedly threatened shoppers, saying they should not try to stop them, but no weapons were used. During that robbery, as KRON4 reported at the time, two suspects entered the busy store and stole $35,000 worth of iPhones and laptops. This crew was likely responsible for a widely publicized robbery of the Palo Alto Apple Store that took place on Black Friday, in November 2022. The eight suspects have been charged by the CA Department of Justice with conspiracy to commit retail theft, organized retail theft, grand theft, theft in the amount over $500,000, and "an aggravated white collar enhancement." "I would like to recognize the incredible work done by all those involved and acknowledge the Attorney General’s Office for their ongoing support and determination to prosecute these cases."īonta thanks the CHP and other law enforcement partners, and said, "Brazen criminal activity, such as the organized retail theft operation we have taken down today, will not be tolerated in California." ![]() ![]() "The California Highway Patrol’s partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies, along with our private industry, continue to result in arrests and recovery of millions of dollars in stolen products," said California Highway Patrol, Golden Gate Division Chief Ezery Beauchamp in a statement. The thefts occurred between August 2022 and January 2023. This organized ring of thieves is believed to have targeted Apple Stores in eleven counties in Northern and Southern California, including San Francisco, Yolo, Monterey, Alameda, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Marin, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Riverside. An organized retail theft ring that netted around $1 million in stolen Apple products over the last six months has been busted following an investigation by the CHP's retail theft unit.Ĭalifornia Attorney General Rob Bonta and the California Highway Patrol announced the bust Thursday, saying that eight arrests were made and the suspects now face multiple felony grand theft charges. ![]()
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