He said he worked for Amazon and offered a landscaper a deal on an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods — all for $790.
The boxes looked real. The pitch sounded plausible. But the tech inside was fake, and now the man who made the offer has been charged with theft by deception, Palos Heights police said.
Antonio Picariello, 44, of Italy, was arrested and charged after investigators tracked him down using a photo of his driver’s license and license plate — taken by the victim on the spot.
The alleged scam happened April 17 in the 11900 block of 68th Avenue. Police said Picariello approached the landscaper while he was working and claimed he had leftover Apple products from his delivery route.
“When they opened the packaging, it was pretty convincing at first,” said Deputy Chief John Parnitzke. “But when you power the phone on, that’s when it’s clear — the interface looks wrong. It’s not Apple software.”
The victim realized the gear was fake and turned over a photo of Picariello’s Italian ID and his vehicle. That information was shared with other departments through a Critical Reach flier — an alert system police use to circulate suspect and vehicle details.
Two days later, Elmhurst officers pulled over the vehicle listed in the alert. Picariello was behind the wheel — and in the back seat were boxes of electronics resembling Apple products.
“They had the same kind of packaging as Apple, but the insides weren’t even close,” Parnitzke said.
Palos Heights investigators responded, executed a search warrant, and recovered large boxes of counterfeit electronics from the car.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved one charge of theft by deception. Picariello appeared in court on April 21, was cited and released, and is expected to return for pretrial proceedings at the Bridgeview Courthouse.
Police believe Picariello is part of a group of foreign nationals who travel between towns committing similar scams.
“These are just crimes of chance,” Parnitzke said. “They’re not targeting specific people or neighborhoods. They’re just driving around, looking for someone who might fall for it.”
The Palos Heights case came to light after Palos Park officers flagged a similar complaint. Other suburbs may still be investigating related incidents.
Parnitzke said the best defense is skepticism.
“If it seems too good to be true, it probably is,” he said. “Nobody’s handing out brand-new iPhones in your driveway. That’s just not how it works.”