Crime & Safety
Police: Man Lied About Business Account to Buy Discounted iPhones
Marcus Phillip Coleman faces a felony theft charge following allegations that he illegally used an AT&T business account.
Prosecutors accuse a Brooklyn Park man of lying about a business account in order to buy 19 iPhones at less than the retail price.
Police encountered 21-year-old Marcus Phillip Coleman after receiving a report that he’d tried to buy five iPhone 5s from the Ridgedale Center Apple Store on Feb. 9, Officer Mark Christiansen wrote in charging documents filed June 26. The store manager told police Coleman claimed to be an authorized purchaser for C&C Johnson Truck Repair’s AT&T business account.
Under the AT&T business account pricing, iPhone 5s cost $199 instead of the full $649. An iPhone 4 that would normally cost $199 is available for free under the agreement.
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Police later learned that Coleman bought an iPhone 5 and three iPhone 4s from the Rosedale Center Apple Store on Feb. 1, five iPhone 5s from Rosedale Center Feb. 2 and five iPhone 5s from the Ridgedale Apple store Feb. 8, in addition to the Feb. 9 report.
In all, the purchases resulted in a lost of $8,547.
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Surveillance footage captured each of the purchases. C&C Johnson Truck Repair’s owner told police that Coleman was not an employee of the company.
Prosecutors have charged Coleman with felony theft by swindling, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
Coleman is not in custody. He has been issued with a court summons.
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