A former Winnipeg, Canada UPS worker has been charged with stealing and then selling Apple products valued at more than $1.3 million.
The theft was discovered after UPS launched an investigation in December to determine why so many Apple devices were disappearing from the warehouse in Winnipeg. Surveillance cameras were installed, and 30-year-old Orville Martirez Beltrano was found to be stealing products from pallets from the warehouse. He is alleged to have stolen more than 120 iPhones in a single shift in January.
Canada’s Global News reports:
Court documents show that between July 2023 and January 2024, 30-year-old Orville Martirez Beltrano allegedly stole approximately 866 Apple products, valued at $1.3 million, from a UPS warehouse on King Edward Street, where he worked since 2013 as a local sorting supervisor until his employment with UPS was terminated in January.
Beltrano allegedly then sold the products on Kijiji, taking payments in cash or e-transfers.
The court documents show between September and January, Beltrano made cash deposits totalling more than $232,000 into his bank accounts.
Beltrano admitted to stealing the products, as well as jewelry from UPS, and to using the money to purchase a home worth $680,000 and to pay off a $60,000 Audi hatchback purchased in 2021.
Beltrano has been charged with theft of more than $5,000, theft of less than $5,000, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, and possession of the proceeds of crime.
On Jan. 23, officers searched his south Winnipeg home and his vehicle, where they found $9,000 in cash in his vehicle, a Mac laptop, and jewelry valued at more than $9,100.
Prosecutors have asked the court to allow the seizure of Beltrano’s house, cash, bank accounts, and vehicle.