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Thief gets 63 months in fed pen for stealing $1M of smart phones, accessories

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: A federal judge in Newark today sentenced a Chicago man to more than six years in prison for stealing more than $1 million worth of iPhones and iPads from Verizon Wireless through a scheme that included bribing Federal Express drivers.

Photo Credit: Cliffview Pilot File Photo

Stephen Gunn, 36, pleaded guilty four months ago to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, admitting that he accessed the online accounts of dozens of Verizon customers — several of them in New Jersey.

Using those accounts, he placed orders for smart phones and accessories and had them shipped via FedEx to addresses in Texas, some of them bogus, he said.

Two drivers working with Gunn intercepted the shipments, removed the contents and re-shipped what was left to Illinois addresses that he said he provided.

In exchange, Gunn said, he paid the drivers each thousands of dollars.

The haul: 1,700 items, including several hundred Apple iPhones and iPads, Blackberry devices, and Motorola phones, he said.

U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman credited special agents of the FBI for the investigation leading to the plea, secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel V. Shapiro of his Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Crimes Section.

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