Crime blotter: Five indicted in California Apple product thefts

The U.K.'s Grand Arcade has an Apple Store.

The most recent Apple Crime Blotter has surfaced with some intriguing news. Firstly, a video from China has appeared featuring a woman gnawing on an iPhone cable. Secondly, business owners from North Carolina have been found guilty of fraud and have since been sentenced. Lastly, the tale of Sam Bankman-Fried is soon to be highlighted on Apple TV+.

The most recent installment of AppleInsider's sporadic series investigating Apple-related criminal activity.

Indictments For 200 Apple Thefts In California: Five Accused

Five individuals, including one woman and four men, are facing charges in relation to multiple thefts of Apple products via the internet.

On August 30, the Justice Department stated that five people are being charged with almost 200 counts of thievery, robbery, and deception against independent sellers of Apple merchandise who were using online marketplaces.

According to prosecutors, the plan consisted of various occurrences where the offenders would encounter people selling items on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist and frequently flee with the items. There were instances where they even resorted to using guns to rob the devices.

Charges under the Hobbs Act were brought against three of the accused, whereas the remaining two are being held by the state.

Woman Chews Through Video Cable In Apple Store

The news of a lady in China who chose to chomp on an iPhone cable rather than buying it spread widely across the globe.

The woman was apprehended due to the surveillance footage within the store, which has currently been made public. According to Nextshark, the video reveals the woman standing in front of the exhibit and closely inspecting the gadget for a brief time.

Suddenly, in an unexpected twist, the lady sinks her teeth into the security cord of the phone and gnaws on it for a brief moment. Eventually, she succeeds in separating the phone from the cable and conceals it safely inside her purse.

U.K. Apple Store Hit By 11 IPhone Thefts

Cambridge News reported that on August 19, the Apple Store located at the Grand Arcade in Cambridge, U.K. fell victim to a theft that resulted in the loss of eleven iPhones.

The newspaper was informed by the Cambridgeshire police that two men have been connected to the robbery.

Charlotte Businessmen Get 46 Mos In IPhone Scam

Two businessmen from North Carolina who admitted to being involved in a fraudulent activity trading iPhones have been given a prison sentence of 46 months, declared by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina on August 30th.

The pair of men received punishment for a plan that the prosecuting team described as "a long-term conspiracy to purchase, market, and transport unlawfully obtained and pilfered new Apple iPhones to purchasers both in the United States and abroad."

"Sam Bankman-Fried's Show On Apple TV+"

Last March, lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried, the fallen leader of the cryptocurrency industry, suggested a change in his bail's terms that would prevent him from using a mobile device.

Bankman-Fried had his bail taken away and he will have to go to trial in October. However, it has been confirmed that Apple was victorious in a competitive situation to turn a soon-to-be-published book concerning the growth and collapse of FTX into a movie or TV show.

The Ankler, a newsletter in the movie industry, recently stated that Apple paid $5 million to transform Michael Lewis' book "Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon" into a movie. Lewis wrote the book while he was stationed in the Bahamas alongside Bankman-Fried when the cryptocurrency exchange crumbled.

When the book was initially revealed towards the end of 2022, Apple was said to be "close to finalizing" the agreement for its rights. However, no official confirmation was ever made.

There are eight projects related to FTX being developed in Hollywood, and among these, the book written by Lewis is believed to have a higher likelihood of success. This author has previously written books that were adapted into popular movies like "The Blind Side" and "Moneyball."

IPad Stolen By "Porch Pirate" Who Escapes In BMW

In Virginia, a guy snatched an iPad from a FedEx worker's grip and rapidly escaped in a white BMW.

As per the report from Fox 59, an iPad was handed over to a lady who was doing her job from home on August 24th. As soon as the delivery guy knocked on her door, she looked at her door-camera and noticed that the guy who claimed it to be his property had stolen the package from her hand while pretending to walk alongside her. The thief then escaped in a white BMW.

Amazon Worker Accused Of Stealing $10K Of Apple Products

There's news of a lady in Florida who used to work in an Amazon warehouse, and she's been charged with stealing items worth $10,000 from one of the facility's robots. According to Tamarac Talk, the woman was busy "systematically" swiping costly tech gear - such as iPads, Apple Watches, AirPods, and Samsung Tablets - from one of the distribution robots, and stealthily concealing them in different spots around the building.

The lady got caught while committing a theft. She admitted to her crime and also disclosed that she had been vending the stolen goods to someone in Jamaica.

Stolen IPhone Found In China By Woman

There's a story about a lady who lost her iPhone at a bar during her trip to Nashville in the United States. However, it ended up in China after being stolen.

Once she traced the phone with her iPad, she observed it travel from Georgia to Florida and eventually Guangdong, China. She had set the phone in "Lost" mode, nevertheless, she got various menacing texts, supposedly from the robbers or another individual who had acquired the device.

Thieves Use Stolen Credit Cards At Apple Store After Home Goods Robbery

Police in Lancaster, Pennsylvania reported that two individuals made off with a victim's wallet from a Home Goods store nearby, then proceeded to utilize the stolen credit cards at the Apple store located in Park City.

A prize of $1,000 has been made available as an incentive.