Hunter
05/28/21
A North Liberty man has been charged after allegedly using his employment at a phone store to steal several devices and sell them to friends for cash.
Arrest reports indicate that an officer was dispatched to the AT&T store on Highway 1 West regarding an ongoing theft of multiple cellphones by an employee the afternoon of April 30th. A regional manager and 30-year-old Mario Flores Alvarenga of Holiday Lodge Road met with the officer, and Flores Alvarenga reportedly admitted to taking at least eleven Apple and Android phones and either selling or giving them away.
When interviewed, Flores Alvarenga said he would discount the phones through the store computer to zero and then sell them for about half their retail value. The store estimates that over $12,500 in devices were taken by Flores Alvarenga.
Some of the thefts were reportedly recorded on video by store surveillance cameras. Flores Alvarenga allegedly offered to pay the store back for the phones that he had stolen.
A warrant was requested, and Flores Alvarenga was charged at the Johnson County Jail Thursday night. If convicted on 1st degree Theft charges, he could be sentenced to up to ten years in prison.