A Minneapolis man who performed a central function in a smartphone theft ring within the metropolis was sentenced Thursday for his half within the scheme, which prosecutors say drained over $275,000 from victims’ monetary apps.
Zhongshuang Su, 33, aka Brandon Su, pleaded responsible in September to main the scheme and was convicted on 4 amended felony counts of stolen property. Su obtained three hundred and sixty five days in Hennepin County’s workhouse with 120 to be served in custody. After launch, Su is required to serve 120 days within the Sentence to Serve program. He was fined $12,000 and should pay extra restitution.
For roughly a 12 months, a crew of thieves would rob folks of cellphones in downtown Minneapolis and Dinkytown, and steal cash through their apps. In some cases, others took telephones by “trickery and violence,” leaving folks with severe accidents, earlier than promoting them to Su, who was nicknamed the “iPhone man” by accomplices, court docket data mentioned.
Su offered the stolen telephones to overseas patrons. Prosecutors imagine Su shipped greater than 1,100 telephones valued at greater than $800,000 to Hong Kong.
Su’s legal professional didn’t return a cellphone name in search of remark Thursday.
Eleven different males have been charged.
David Lee Mullins Jr. didn’t seem for a sentencing Thursday and now has a warrant. He was charged with racketeering.
Kevron Detrell Williams Grey was sentenced in 2022 to over 9 years in jail after pleading responsible to first-degree aggravated theft.
Aaron T. Johnson was sentenced in March to just about eight years after pleading responsible to felony racketeering for stealing and reselling telephones and discovering folks on social media prepared to launder stolen cash.
