PC World worker charged with stealing $30,000 of Apple gear

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MacBook Pro
MacBooks were among the stolen items.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

An employee of PC World, a U.K.-based computer superstore, has admitted to stealing 27,000 euros ($30,000) worth of Apple products from his workplace. Oh, the irony!

21-year-old Eoin Giles of Dublin, Ireland, pleaded guilty to stealing 21 MacBooks, six Apple Watches, and seven iPads Pros, and then selling them on. Giles described it as a “stupid” attempt to make money.

Police were summoned to the store in April of last year, after a stock-take showed that a large quantity of the store’s Apple stock had gone missing. After reviewing CCTV tapes, Giles was highlighted as the culprit, after being seen moving stock out of the stockroom in a “suspicious manner.” He had worked at the store for three years.

Giles kept one MacBook for himself, but sold the rest to 31-year-old Muhammed Amjad, who paid 2,000 euros initially and promised an additional 10,000 euros once the stock was stolen. However, he was arrested and given an 18-month suspended sentence for handling stolen goods.

Eoin Giles will be sentenced in two months. After being sacked from PC World, he currently works in car sales. He had no previous criminal convictions.

iCrime rate

Unfortunately, this is far from the first time we’ve reported on Apple-related crimes. Due to their popularity and relatively high value, they are often targeted by thieves.

Last month, music lovers at Coachella were targeted by a man who stole 100 iPhones from festival-goers before being tracked down thanks to Apple’s Find My iPhone feature.

This isn’t the first time that a computer salesman has stolen Apple products, either. Back in 2015, an Apple store employee in New York was charged with grand larceny for purchasing $997,000 worth of gift cards using fake debit and credit cards, and then selling them at reduced rates.

Perhaps the most brazen robbery of all involved thieves who dressed as Apple store employees to steal 19 iPhones, worth a total of $16,130, without anyone noticing.

Source: Independent

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