Former UPS employee stole $1.3 million in Apple merchandise — used proceeds to buy a home, pay off his Audi

News
By
published

Perpetrators stole all the Apple goods from his local UPS warehouse where he worked at for over ten years.

UPS
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Global News reports that a former UPS sorting supervisor was arrested for stealing and reselling $1.3 million in Apple products from a UPS warehouse in Winnipeg, Canada. The UPS employee was fired and is now facing charges for his theft whNt sich took place between July 2023 and January 2024.

Court documents reveal that the perpetrator, Martinez Beltrano, purportedly stole roughly 866 Apple products from a UPS warehouse he had worked at since 2013. He then resold all of the stolen merchandise on Kijiji, taking payments in cash or e-transfers. The article doesn't say how police discovered the stolen goods or the perpetrator. However, in late January, Beltrano was arrested by Winnipeg police and charged with an assortment of crimes appropriate to the amount of merchandise he stole, including changes for theft of over $5,000 and under $5,000.

A few days after his arrest, police executed a search warrant on his home and vehicle, where they found over $1,800 worth of cash, electronic devices, and jewelry. In a police interview, Beltrano admitted to stealing the products and using the money from reselling the merchandise to buy a home worth $630,000 and pay off an Audi hatchback he already owned worth $60,000.

Court documents also revealed that Beltrano made cash deposits totaling more than $232,000 into his bank accounts from the merchandise he resold between September and January. A substantial amount of cash still has yet to be discovered in Beltrano's possession, unless he sold his stolen merchandise at a highly discounted rate.

The court is seeking a judge's approval to allow officials to seize most of Beltrano's possessions, including the aforementioned property and stuff he bought with the stolen merchandise. Beltrano will probably serve jail time for his actions and/or be charged with a serious fine to account for all of the financial damage he has caused to UPS and Apple.

Aaron Klotz
Aaron Klotz
Contributing Writer

Aaron Klotz is a contributing writer for Tom’s Hardware, covering news related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.

15 Comments Comment from the forums
  • peachpuff
    Court documents also revealed that Beltrano made cash deposits totaling more than $232,000 into his bank accounts from the merchandise he resold between September and January.
    Not very bright.
    Reply
  • Notton
    I'm surprised it took that long to find out who was doing it.
    IDK about that specific warehouse, but the one I know of had basic security. Metal detectors at the gates, security cameras everywhere, and internal UPS security. The lax part were the gates, as they were manned by low wage and poorly trained 3rd party security.

    peachpuff said:
    Not very bright.
    Tax collection agencies care that you pay your taxes, even if it's from criminal proceeds. For instance, Al Capone was arrested for tax evasion.
    Reply
  • rluker5
    "$1800 worth of cash, electronics and jewelry"
    Reminds me of Dr Evil.
    Reply
  • scottsoapbox
    rluker5 said:
    "$1800 worth of cash, electronics and jewelry"
    Reminds me of Dr Evil.
    LOL. I wondered if this was a typo or I was richer than I thought.
    Reply
  • A few days after his arrest, police executed a search warrant on his home and vehicle, where they found over $1,800 worth of cash, electronic devices, and jewelry

    $1800 ? Other publications/sites/reportings say otherwise, 9K ?

    "On Jan. 23, officers executed a search warrant of his south Winnipeg home and his vehicle, where they found $9,000 in cash that was bundled in a Nike bag in his vehicle, a Mac laptop, and jewelry valued at more than $9,100. The document indicated that in a videotaped interview with police, Beltrano admitted to stealing Apple products from the warehouse as well as the jewelry."

    "Search warrants also turned up $9,000 in cash in a Nike bag in his vehicle, a MacBook, and more than $9,100 in jewelry. "

    "CTV News says that the man admitted to stealing the Apple products during an interview with police, and they acquired a search warrant to check out his home. In it, they found around $9k in cash, stolen jewelry, and an Apple Macbook."

    "A subsequent search warrant was executed on Jan. 23, at Beltrano’s home and car. Police seized around $9,000 in cash, six pieces of stolen jewellery valued at $9,150 and an Apple laptop, according to the claim."
    Reply
  • brandonjclark
    peachpuff said:
    Not very bright.
    Does he even trade, bro? 232k in a BANK ACCOUNT?!??!?!?!?1
    Reply
  • Udyr
    The UPS employee was fired and is now facing charges for his theft whNt sich took place between July 2023 and January 2024
    Was this something related to translation?
    Reply
  • Alvar "Miles" Udell
    Or AI having a stroke while writing the article.
    Reply
  • derekullo
    rluker5 said:
    "$1800 worth of cash, electronics and jewelry"
    Reminds me of Dr Evil.
    $1,800 in cash, electronics and jewelry.
    Could just be a 1TB iPhone 15 Pro, $100 bill and a silver ring
    Reply
  • drtweak
    I worked at UPS from 06-10. There was a smuggling ring of iPhone between like 5 people. This was when they first came out. I remember having a box come to the area I managed and i saw it open, knew it was iPhones (4s's) and i saw that all the cases were in there thinking it just opened. Then i stopped and said no. I pulled them out. Every case. EMPTY. was a huge ordeal. They eventually shipped Apples in their own air cans and has security with them from when they get off the plane or truck until the drive leaves.
    Reply