Apple Crime Log: $2M iPhone 17 Heist, Crypto Scams, Pooh Shiesty’s AirTag Blunder + More
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It’s that time again! Let’s delve into another Apple Crime Log, our semi-regular feature where we cover Apple-related crimes and scams. In this edition: A second suspect connected to a $2 million iPhone theft from March is still at large, a fake crypto app takes $424,000 in Bitcoin from a well-known musician, and much more.
Second Suspect in $2 Million iPhone Theft Still At Large
While one suspect was arrested in the $2 million iPhone heist we reported on last month, a second suspect remains at large.
According to NBC Miami, Robert Rashawn Soto allegedly helped the suspect already in custody, Jeffery Moore, steal 38 boxes of iPhone 17 Pro Max units from a FedEx warehouse, totaling nearly 1,800 devices, valued at just under $2 million.
The facility had received a call from a man claiming that his warehouse was “undergoing renovations, so they were unable to receive deliveries and they wanted employees to pick up a shipment.” On March 19, two men showed up at the facility posing as Union Logistics employees, complete with photo ID badges and employee IDs, as well as a 20-foot U-Haul truck.
As the boxes were being loaded, the real manager of the company made an appearance and told FedEx to stop the thieves. However, by that time, Moore and Soto already vacated the premises. Later that day, Moore was stopped in Alachua County, over 300 miles away, thanks to authorities tracking the AirTags that had been hidden in the shipment.
Moore has been charged with grand theft, conspiracy to commit grand theft, and organized scheme to defraud charges in connection with the heist. Soto will likely be hit with similar charges once he’s apprehended.
Fake Crypto App Costs Musician $424K in Bitcoin
A well-known singer lost nearly $425,000 in Bitcoin to a fake crypto app that managed to take $9.5 million in cryptocurrency from victims before it was removed from the App Store earlier this month.
On April 11, Musician G. Love posted on X that he lost a large amount of Bitcoin after downloading a scammy crypto app from the Mac App Store. The app, he said, was a fake version of the popular Ledger app that stole his entire Bitcoin holdings, worth around $424,000. In follow-up posts, G-Love said he lost 5.92 BTC.
AirTag Leads to Arrest of Rapper on Robbery Charges
While we’re on the subject of musicians, rapper Pooh Shiesty is among ten people who have been arrested in connection with a robbery. The robbers targeted several individuals, including another rapper, Gucci Mane.
Complex reports a criminal complaint claims that a victim, only described as “M.M.” was “choked from behind to the point of nearly losing consciousness during the kidnapping and robbery.”
Thieves scored AirPods, other headphones, a Rolex watch, a wallet, and a Louis Vuitton bag. Many of the items, said the report, had AirTags attached.
The report says Pooh Shiesty, whose real name is Lontrell Williams Jr., had demanded he be released from a recording deal with Gucci Mane’s label.
Suspects Mace Best Buy Employees in iPad Theft
Two suspects stole two iPads from the Best Buy on LeBrea in West Hollywood, and then fled. But not before macing store employees.
Weho Online reports that while the thieves attempted to steal a pair of iPads, the butterfingered felons dropped one of the iPads on the way out, but got away with the other tablet.
A West Hollywood sheriff’s deputy described the theft. “It was a robbery,” the deputy said. “This person walked in, grabbed two iPads. Loss prevention tried to stop them. They dropped one, picked it back up, ran out.”
The suspects first tried to make their escape via a back door. This triggered an alarm, and the bad actors couldn’t get through. When store employees attempted to apprehend them and recover the iPads, the suspects hit multiple employees with mace. The suspects then headed toward the front door of the store, where a Best Buy security guard was stationed.
The pair escaped while the guard attempted to move customers away from the mace-carrying suspects. Best Buy policy prohibits physical contact with thieves.
When one employee made a last valiant attempt to recover the iPads near the front door. One of the tablets was dropped to the ground and was recovered. The suspects retained custody of the other iPad — and maced the employee on the way out for their trouble.
That maced employee was transported to a local hospital and was the only one who required medical treatment. There were no other injuries.
One suspect was described as an African American female wearing a white top.
Anyone with information about the theft can contact the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station at (310) 855-8850.
AirTag, MacBook Helped Track California Car Theft
Police in San Mateo, California, followed an AirTag signal to find a stolen vehicle, and later a MacBook tracking signal led them to additional stolen items.
The San Jose Mercury News reports the MacBook and the stolen items were all in the vehicle the suspects had stolen.
Officers reportedly responded around 6:40 a.m. to the 300 block of N. Delaware Street on a report of a stolen vehicle. The owner told cops that the vehicle contained a hidden AirTag, which he had tracked to the area of Marina Court and Day Avenue. Officers later found the stolen vehicle in that area, hidden under a car cover.
Police arrested one suspect on suspicion of vehicle theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of stolen property, and grand theft. The other received a misdemeanor citation for possession of stolen property, although that was in connection with an unrelated out-of-state theft.
