Scamster Nabbed Peddling Phony Apple Products

NOVEMBER 12--Using glass, wood, and duct tape, a crafty scam artist fabricated iPad and MacBook replicas, which he then sold to unsuspecting customers who thought they had snared a deeply discounted Apple product, police report.

Torrance Canady, 39, was arrested last night by Florida cops and charged with grand theft in connection with ripping off two victims. He is being held in the Volusia County jail.

According to a Daytona Beach Police Department charging affidavit, Canady was busted following a 6:45 PM traffic stop. During a search of the vehicle--in which Canady was a passenger--cops found two phony iPads and a pair of fake Apple laptops, which can be seen in the above police evidence photo (click to enlarge).

The purported MacBook Pros were actually pieces of wood carefully wrapped in gray duct tape with the distinctive Apple logo centered on what appeared to be the machine’s cover. A Best Buy flier (listing the laptop’s price as $2194) was attached to one of the fakes, which was encased in bubble wrap.

As seen in the police evidence photo, the phony iPads were actually pieces of glass framed by black tape (also with an Apple logo affixed by transparent tape).

Witness Felicia Bunker, 41, yesterday identified Canady as the man who last Friday sold her a fake iPad for $400 (the transaction occurred in the parking lot of a Save-A-Lot supermarket). Bunker told cops that she did not examine the iPad until she returned home, where she realized she had been duped (though the iPad did come with an actual extension cord).

Bunker, who said that the phony iPad was inside a FedEx box, initially described the goateed scamster as driving a blue Chevy and “wearing a white t-shirt and black jeans and 8 gold teeth.”

According to police, a second victim purchased a fake laptop from Canady, who is seen in the mug shot at left.

During a post-arrest interview last night, Canady denied knowing that the seized electronics were fake, claiming that he “bought the computers in St. Petersburg and that two of the computers were for a girlfriend here in Daytona.” He added that he planned to sell the other items “to try and get his money back.”

Despite that explanation, Canady was charged with felony grand theft and providing police with a false name.

Canady’s Florida Department of Law Enforcement rap sheet spans 20 years and runs 97 pages. Canady, whose occupation is listed as laborer, has been arrested for a dizzying array of crimes, including cocaine trafficking; marijuana possession; armed burglary; auto theft; obstruction; failure to pay child support; battery; lewd and lascivious behavior; burglary; weapons possession; prowling; stalking; trespassing; fraud; and resisting an officer. (2 pages)