Crime & Safety
Trio Sold Sealed Box Of Rice Instead Of iPhone 8: Police
A man and two teens were charged with a scam where they pretended to sell iPhones on LetGo and instead sold boxes of rice, police say.
NORTH BABYLON, NY - Three people were arrested on Monday for selling a sealed Apple iPhone 8 that was actually a box containing only rice in North Babylon, according to Suffolk Police.
After receiving several complaints about a scam on the app LetGo, officers conducted an undercover operation and arranged to meet a person at McDonald’s on 1510 Deer Park Avenue to purchase an iPhone 8 for $300, police said.
After the purchase was complete, officers discovered that the sealed box contained a package of rice wrapped in tinfoil and arrested the unidentified 17-year-old Brooklyn male at 1:25 p.m., police said.
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Ramel Parker, 22, of Islip and a 17-year-old West Babylon teen, who were connected with the scam, were found in a car nearby at 1:50 p.m. and were also arrested, police said.
Photo: SCPD
Find out what's happening in Deer Park-North Babylonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Officers found three iPhone boxes containing rice and tinfoil, a bag of rice, an industrial sealer, heat gun, roll of clear plastic wrap, baggies and box of tinfoil in the car, police said.
The 17-year-old from Brooklyn was charged with petty larceny, possession of burglar’s tools, and resisting arrest.
Parker was charged with petty larceny, possession of burglar’s tools, criminal possession of marijuana, second degree aggravated unlicensed operation and an outstanding New York City warrant.
The 17-year-old from West Babylon was charged with petty larceny, possession of burglar’s tools and criminal possession of marijuana.
He was released on bail.
The Brooklyn teen was additionally charged with two counts of petty larceny and scheme to defraud, police said.
The 17-year-old arranged to sell two Apple iPhones at the McDonald’s for $1,000, police said. The sealed box contained a package of rice instead of the phones. Later that night, the teen sold another sealed box containing rice to a different victim for $300.
He will be held overnight at the First Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday.
Police are asking anyone who might have been a victim of this scam to contact First Precinct Crime Section officers at (631) 854-8126.
Image via Shutterstock
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