Cell phone theft is a real and growing problem. So, too, apparently is fake cell phone theft. And we aren't talking about petty crime here either.
Criminals bragging about their criminal activities on Facebook isn't actually a problem - except for the criminals, of course - but that practice appears to be as lively as ever, witness this mastermind who allegedly took to the social network to boast of an insurance scam involving fake phones.
But before we get too deep into our head-shaking and schadenfreude, you might want to consider some pictures that stopped mine cold. Details of the allegations first, though:
From the New Jersey Star-Ledger:
Peter Mancuso, a 43-year-old from Nutley, and Passaic residents Roger Davila, 32, and 26-year-old Ceasar Berrios are accused of filing over $160,000 in fraudulent claims from December 2009 until August 2013, authorities announced Thursday.
Mancuso and Davila used fictitious names to submit certified loss claims for lost or stolen cell phones to Asurion Insurance Services, authorities said. Berrios is accused of taking the delivery of replacement cell phones at a covert address - and the three are accused of selling the new phones over the Internet.
Davila also boasted about the sales scheme on his personal Facebook page while it was operational, the prosecutor said.
A dumbass, no two ways about it. And a criminal dumbass, too, who faces up to 10 years in prison if the allegations are proven true.
(Armadillo-T: Now that's a compact car.)
The biggest victim here, though, is by no means that insurance company bilked of $130,000. No, I went to Davila's Facebook page to see if I could find the allegedly incriminating boast. I couldn't, but there were dozens of family photos - he apparently has a wife and three incredibly cute young daughters. Given the circumstances, the pictures were tough to look at, and in the time since I saw them Davila's Facebook page has been removed.
Trust me when I say you didn't want to see them anyway.
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