Man Dressed Up as Apple Store Employee to Steal 19 iPhones

A man dressed as a New York City Apple Store employee and stole 19 iPhones.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Last week in Manhattan, a man dressed as an Apple Store employee (you know, that signature blue-tee-and-jeans 'fit), strolled into the store's electronics repair room, and stole 19 iPhones, according to DNAinfo. Yes, nineteen iPhones—worth a total of $16,130.

The alleged thief was not alone in his plot, according to the New York Police Department. He reportedly grabbed the iPhones from a drawer in the repair room, then passed them off to an accomplice, who hid them under his shirt. The pair walked out of the store together. This all went down at about 5:30 p.m. last Wednesday at Apple's SoHo location.

The man, who maybe followed this handy DIY Apple Store employee costume guide, has not been identified.

Apple has previously had to deal with actual employees stealing iPhones. Two employees were arrested in 2008 for swiping 332 iPhones.

Apple's website says the tech giant employs more than 100 people per store on average, and if you've ever been in an Apple Store, this is no surprise. There are usually almost as many Apple employees walking around as there are customers, so it can't be that hard to blend in.

It's not surprising that this dude made it out of the electronics room with the iPhones. What is surprising is that his accomplice wasn't spotted walking around with 19 iPhones in his shirt. One would think that'd be as obvious as stuffing your pants with large quantities of ribs and steak.

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