It’s never a good idea to steal from your place of business.
Verizon employee, James Hopkins, stole over 900 phones along with other devices from a Verizon Wireless store to make a quick turn over. Prior to getting caught, he managed to rack up $272,290 (!) through his longtime steal and sell scheme. Hopkins, who worked for the company as a business executive at an office in Pennsylvania, is now going to prison for 27 months.
Hopkins placed orders for Verizon Wireless phones and other devices under the names of Verizon Wireless customers, then had those shipments rerouted to a relative in New Jersey. According to US Attorney Paul Fishman, Hopkins manipulated Verizon’s computer database to conceal the fraudulent order and shipments. In other words, he hacked through Verizon’s system to ensure the orders wouldn’t be traced back to him. That, however, didn’t work as the US Postal Inspection Service caught on and launched the investigation that would eventually land Hopkins in prison.
Prison isn’t the only thing that’s awaiting Hopkins. He also needs to repay the stolen $272,290, pay $303,623 in restitution and serve two years of supervised release when he's out.
[via The Verge]
