“A 24-year-old man has been charged with grand larceny and other crimes for allegedly re-coding credit and debit cards while working at the Apple store in the Queens Center Mall and using them to buy legitimate Apple gift cards worth nearly $1 million,” NBC 4 New York reports.
“Ruben Profit, of Cambria Heights in Queens, New York, started working with Apple in December 2013 and transferred to the retail store in the Elmhurst mall when it opened in July,” NBC 4 reports. “While working there, Profit allegedly bought multiple Apple gift cards using Visa and/or American Express gift, debit or pre-paid credit cards between August and October, authorities said. The total value of the gift cards was $997,000.”
“An investigation launched in October when Apple started getting notifications of charge-backs, which indicate fraudulent transactions, on the Apple gift cards Profit allegedly purchased,” NBC 4 reports. “Profit faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.”
Full article here.
“When Profit was arrested he had 51 American Express and Visa gift cards on him, and allegedly told officers he was paid $200 for each $2,000 Apple gift card he gave to another person,” Katie Honan reports for DNAinfo.
“Profit was charged with grand larceny and nearly 50 counts of possession of a forged instrument, according to the DA,” Honan reports. “He had a previous arrest for marijuana possession in 2013, records show.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Obviously, Profit wasn’t the Genius, nor was he aptly named.
He’s being held on $20,000 bail. Hopefully the authorities don’t accept credit cards.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz” and “Lynn Weiler” for the heads up.]