A man and a woman who were arrested over the weekend at the Deer Park Apple Store are only the latest to be charged after a string of incidents at that location.
A Lake County law enforcement official said the spate of recent arrests of out-of-state residents at Deer Park may just be the result of good police work — not because alleged crooks are targeting that particular store.
Sterling L. Kimbrough and Zavonnti Glasker are the latest charged in an ongoing investigation. They are among 12 other arrests made in 2016 and earlier this year, several at the Deer Park location, from New York or Michigan, linked to the regional scheme, the sheriff’s office said.
Two men who were arrested last week in Deer Park had more than 100 iPhones with them, the sheriff’s office said.
Mohammed Hosein, 23 and Wen Jie Qin, 21 were stopped Wednesday by sheriff deputies near Deer Park Town Center. They had just left the Apple Store after exchanging stolen, damaged iPhones for new ones, the sheriff’s office said.
Here’s how the scam works, according to Sheriff’s Detective Christopher Covelli:
The men go into Apple stores with phones that are either cracked or super glued together, preventing employees from opening up the phones to confirm serial numbers.
They claim they own the phones, and use false documents and stolen identity info to apparently prove it, Covelli said. The men then exchange the broken phones for a new one under warranty and leave with a new phone they are able to re-sell.
Kimbrough, 21 and Glasker, 22, both of Detroit, Michigan, were both charged Monday with burglary and two counts of identity theft, all felonies, according to the Lake County sheriff’s office.
At 7:15 p.m. Saturday, deputies responded to a report of two people trying to fraudulently open Apple accounts and obtain merchandise at the north suburban store, according to the sheriff’s office.
Kimbrough and Glasker were opening accounts using other people’s identification, such as their Social Security numbers, to purchase new Apple products, the sheriff’s office said. They are both being held at the Lake County Jail on $150,000 bonds, and are next scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.
In the earlier arrests, investigators determined that Hosein, of Detroit; and Qin, who lives in San Francisco, traveled to Apple stores across the county and “fraudulently obtained possession of numerous Apple iPhones,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Hosein and Qin and were charged with one count each of burglary and retail theft, both felonies, and were each ordered held on $50,000 bonds.
These kinds of fraudulent purchases are happening all across the country, but Covelli said the Lake County’s sheriff’s office has been keeping a close eye on the Deer Park store. Those increased efforts have led to the recent increase in arrests tied to the store; it may not mean that this store is for some reason being targeted, he added.
The sheriff’s office continues to provide increased patrols at the store.
