Thieves target T-Mobile stores stealing over $500,000 in phones, tablets, watches, and more
We've covered stories where T-Mobile reps were accused of ripping off customers by adding new lines or accessories without consent. Now, it appears that T-Mobile is a target itself of a ring made up of thieves who ended up stealing more than $500,000 in merchandise from the wireless provider's stores in Palm Beach County. The stolen merchandise was resold by the thieves.
The ring stole packages that were earmarked for delivery at T-Mobile stores in Palm Beach County, Florida starting back in July 2024. By October 8th, law enforcement authorities traced some of the stolen devices to California and a UPS hub in Riviera Beach, Florida. Also involved in the ring was a cellphone repair shop in Lantana, Florida (home of the National Enquirer) named GoalMind Studios which also was home to a recording studio and a fencing operation (and we don''t mean with swords).
T-Mobile started an internal investigation and placed GPS tracking devices in packages they believed were being targeted by the thieves. The carrier realized that something was wrong when it discovered thousands of dollars in losses were incurred by two T-Mobile stores in Lake Worth, Florida. The losses reportedly exceeded $504,000. A photo of the cellphone repair shop released by the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office seems to show numerous iPads, several iPhones, a few Apple Watches, and other devices strewn around the office.
Numerous stolen iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches can be seen in this photo along with mug shots of the suspects. | Image credit-Palm Beach Sheriffs Office
The store was used to sell the merchandise that was headed for T-Mobile which we assume included smartphones, tablets, and other devices. The police started their investigation of the matter on October 31st after T-Mobile and UPS representatives informed detectives about a series of high-value thefts. On Wednesday, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office announced the fourth arrest related to this ring.
38-year-old Samuel Drummond was arrested while trying to leave the country. He joins the trio of Giffton White, 36, Sheldon Brown, 38, and Christopher Palmer, 36 who were picked up by the cops last week. White was a UPS supervisor who was in charge of delivering the stolen packages to the recording studio. Brown was a UPS driver who removed the packages from the shipping facility and turned them over to White and Palmer.
Palmer was also a UPS driver who received stolen packages and at the time of his arrest, he was using one of the stolen phones from the stolen packages.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: