AirTag and – From a brazen Long Island truck hijacking involving $1.2 million in Apple gear to AirTag recoveries in New Jersey and Milwaukee, this week’s Apple Crime Blotter tracks arrests, guilty pleas, and investigations tied to Apple devices—from watches and iPhones to
The week’s Apple-related cases moved fast, with investigators leaning on the trail left behind by devices themselves—along with fingerprints, surveillance footage, and guilty pleas that turned alleged theft into courtroom fact.
On May 7, the Justice Department announced indictments of three people tied to a “brazen daytime robbery” in January.. The incident involved the hijacking of a truck near a Long Island Apple Store and the theft of $1.2 million in MacBooks. iPhones. iPads. Apple Watches. and accessories.. The arrests connected to that case also point to how quickly evidence can surface: the New York Times described leads including fingerprints on paperwork. one accused thief renting a storage unit in his own name. and another of them activating two stolen Apple Watches.
In Britain, the momentum around a high-profile iPhone theft took another step.. In October of 2025. a government-issued iPhone was stolen from Morgan McSweeney. then chief of staff for British Prime Minister Kier Starmer.. The phone’s absence mattered politically as well as operationally—McSweeney couldn’t produce messages between himself and Lord Peter Mandelson. the former British ambassador to the U.S.. who was under scrutiny over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.. Mandelson was removed and later indicted, and McSweeney stepped down in February.. By late April. a man was arrested for selling McSweeney’s stolen iPhone. though he was not believed to be responsible for the original theft.. The phone itself still hadn’t been recovered, even as the sale led to an arrest.
Beyond thefts tied to iPhones and iPads, the blotter also followed what happened when music and computers became the target.. In the summer of 2025. a rental car belonging to a member of pop superstar Beyonce’s entourage was broken into in Atlanta.. Investigators said the theft included hard drives and computers, including a MacBook Air containing the singer’s unreleased music.. An arrest followed in September. and just before a trial was set to begin. the
man accused in the thefts pleaded guilty on May 12.. ABC 7 said the 40-year-old defendant agreed to serve two years in prison followed by three more on probation.. Prosecutors showed videos before the plea. including footage of the defendant approaching the vehicle and then driving it to an apartment complex.. The stolen items cited by that report included “two MacBook laptops. Apple headphones. luxury clothing and accessories. ” along with hard drives investigators said
contained unreleased Beyonce material.
Elsewhere in the U.K., thieves targeted smaller items with an easy-to-move value.. Two teenagers were arrested for stealing iPhone cases in Attleborough. where police said they were carrying 42 iPhone cases worth 2. 500 pounds (about $3. 382).. Eastern Daily Press reported the cases had been stolen from Apple Stores in Norwich and Cambridge.
Cybercrime also featured prominently, with federal charges centered on access to Apple-adjacent accounts.. Federal prosecutors announced the indictment of a Maryland man they say accessed the private information of nearly 200 victims.. The Justice Department said the 41-year-old employee of a Maryland medical system used “various cyber intrusion techniques” over a scheme lasting eight years. targeting accounts on “online services such as Google Photos. iCloud Photos. Gmail. and Microsoft 365. and social media accounts.” The man is charged with two counts of unauthorized access to a protected computer and one count of aggravated identity theft.
The theme of tracking devices—this time using Apple accessories—showed up in multiple recoveries and arrests.
Police used an AirTag to recover a stolen 2021 Lamborghini Urus valued at $300,000 in New Jersey in late April.. CBS New York reported surveillance video showed thieves stealing the car from a custom auto body shop called MoeModz.. The owner had placed an AirTag inside the Lamborghini, allowing police to track it.. That tracking triggered a chase reaching the Garden State Parkway.. The incident ended when the car’s occupants got out and fled on foot.. One of them, a 21-year-old, was charged with receiving stolen property and resisting arrest.. The Lamborghini suffered $15,000 in damage.
A similar story unfolded in Milwaukee in early May. where a couple’s attempt to retrieve a stolen car relied on AirPods left behind.. TMJ 4 reported the couple had left their car on a street after a tire blowout.. When they returned with a spare, the car was gone.. After calls to various tow yards proved fruitless. the owner checked Find My iPhone and realized his AirPods had been left in the car.. Following the signal led to a scrapyard. where the car was already “crushed.” The Milwaukee Police Department is investigating the theft.
In Iowa’s Quad Cities, AirPods helped point investigators toward the people behind car burglaries.. KWQC reported there were more than 15 car break-ins between early March and early May.. In one break-in, a credit card and AirPods were taken.. Police tracked the AirPods to an apartment building, where they found the AirPods and other stolen items, resulting in arrests.
Marketplace thefts involving Apple devices led to yet another set of charges in Florida.. WSVN reported that two Miami men, aged 20 and 22, were arrested and charged with a series of Facebook Marketplace thefts.. Police said the two men arranged meetings to buy iPhones. iPads. and MacBooks. then allegedly stole the products without paying at the meetups.. One of the two men faces charges of robbery by sudden snatching. strong-arm robbery. burglary of an occupied conveyance. and grand theft.
The week’s cases also included a rare turn where the stolen device did get returned.. In the Philippines. Teddy Corpuz. a well-known TV host. had his iPad stolen in a break-in in May. along with other items.. But GMA News Online said Corpuz posted on Facebook that he had recovered the iPad.. The stolen items, per that announcement, included “cash, jewelry, [and] a charger.”
One pattern runs through the cases: devices and the systems around them repeatedly leave usable evidence.. Fingerprints on paperwork. storage rentals in one’s own name. and the activation of stolen Apple Watches were highlighted in the Long Island truck robbery case. while AirTag and AirPods tracking feature in the New Jersey Lamborghini recovery. the Milwaukee scrapyard discovery. and the Quad Cities arrests—each turning a device’s presence into a route investigators could follow.
As these incidents spread across countries and crime types—from truck hijackings and device thefts to account intrusions and marketplace scams—the outcomes vary: some suspects face indictments or guilty pleas. some cars and devices are recovered while others remain missing. and some arrests connect to sales rather than the original theft.. Still. in this week’s Apple Crime Blotter. the through-line is clear—Apple technology kept showing up. not just as stolen property. but as the thread that helped bring cases to a breaking point.
Apple Crime Blotter AirTag AirPods iCloud iPhone theft Lamborghini Urus MacBooks Beyonce unreleased music Justice Department indictment Find My iPhone Facebook Marketplace thefts aggravated identity theft