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Cody Malcolm, 24, of the Bronx, turned himself into police Thursday after a warrant was issued for his arrest, as well as his unnamed accomplice, said Sgt. Sean Coughlin.
The two, who worked as salespeople at the AT&T store on Summer Street, were nabbed after AT&T security and theft prevention contacted the department to report the loss of 278 iPhones and iPads, Coughlin said.
According to Coughlin and his partner Sgt. Mike Stempien, Malcolm, and his accomplice would create customer accounts in the store's database and then immediately sell four "hardware" items such as an iPhone to the new customer. They would then put the items in their backpacks and walk out the door with them at the end of the workday, he said.
Authorities allege the two created 68 fraudulent customer accounts between July 10 and Sept. 4, 2017, stealing a total of $231,687 worth of goods, Coughlin said.
They were caught after the store conducted an audit and found the items had not been sold. The two were caught on video surveillance taking the items out of the store.
They were both fired in December.
"They had to know this was coming after being terminated," Coughlin said.
Coughlin said at least 80 percent of the fake accounts had Summer Street addresses in the 2000 block, in Stamford. They even went so far as to use the store's actual address of 2147 Summer Street on one of the fake accounts.
Police believe the devices were sold on the black market.
Coughlin said there is currently a warrant for Malcolm's accomplice who has not turned himself in.
Malcolm was charged with larceny and conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny and is being held in lieu of a $100,000 court appearance bond.
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