An investigation into a string of phone thefts from Amazon has led to the arrest of two individuals and the issuance of warrants for two more in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The probe, dubbed “organized Amazon retail theft,” was sparked when ecoATM, a service that allows users to sell their phones for cash, alerted the Fort Wayne Police Department to a surge in suspicious transactions involving Apple iPhone 15s.
On Tuesday, police apprehended 19-year-old Omar Kelly and his 18-year-old brother, Amir Kelly, both of whom are Amazon employees, in connection with the theft of 10 iPhone 15s from the company. The stolen phones have an estimated value of $7,456, with six of them recovered by police, worth approximately $4,280. The Kelly brothers were charged with organized retail theft, a level 6 felony.
The investigation also led to the identification of two additional suspects, 18-year-old Tanishia Palma, an Amazon employee, and her boyfriend, Adam Bigger. According to police, the pair allegedly sold 154 stolen iPhones, valued at $138,094, to ecoATM, using intermediaries to facilitate the transactions. Authorities have recovered 55 of the stolen phones, worth about $49,413.
Police utilized the LeadsOnline tool to connect the suspects to the case, and credited Amazon Loss Prevention, LeadsOnline, and ecoATM for their assistance in uncovering the theft. The Fort Wayne Police Department has issued active warrants for Palma and Bigger’s arrest.
According to police, all of the suspects used ecoATMs as a means to sell the stolen phones, exploiting the service as a way to profit from their illicit activities.
