Indictment: Suspect posed as employee, stole 60+ iPhones from Macedon Walmart

Wayne County prosecutors announced an indictment on Feb. 18, 2026, after what they say was a large-scale theft at the Walmart in Macedon, New York in which a suspect "posed as a store employee" and "removed more than 60 iPhones," creating an estimated loss of nearly $52,000. The announcement names the indictment but does not identify a defendant or describe the alleged method beyond that phrasing.

The public filing announced by prosecutors did not include a suspect name, arrest status, dates of the alleged thefts, the number of indictment counts, or any comment from Walmart management, and it does not describe whether the iPhones were taken in a single incident or over multiple trips. Those gaps mean the indictment text, booking records, and any surveillance still must be obtained from the Wayne County District Attorney's Office and local police to clarify who the indictment names and when the thefts occurred.

Law-enforcement agencies in other states have recently reported separate incidents in which people posed as retail employees to remove high-value merchandise, but Wayne County prosecutors have not tied those cases to the Macedon indictment. In California, Deputy Robbie Royster identified a suspect as Michael Hollins, 50, of Rosamond, and said Hollins was arrested on unrelated drug allegations while also being identified in a Walmart theft and an earlier attempt at a Costco. Royster described a Dec. 22 encounter in Palmdale where Costco security questioned Hollins about two televisions he was carrying and Hollins told them they were "returns" and kept walking; deputies said he "got away - without the TVs." Royster also said surveillance showed a man "dressed like an employee" walking out of a Lancaster Walmart with four televisions on Jan. 2, and detectives reported Hollins "said he got the Walmart I.D. from a recently fired employee."

In Massachusetts, the Wareham Police Department said it was searching for a man who allegedly impersonated Walmart and Target employees to shoplift, and that "the man would load merchandise into a cart and then wheel it out the door." At least one of those incidents occurred on June 23, 2025, and officers said the suspect "was also identified with a female at least once."

In Kodiak, Alaska, court records show Maximillian I. Kaplan was arrested after a Walmart employee reported a white man in his 30s, wearing black, "came into the store yelling at cashiers and customers for their papers, saying he was from ICE and that he almost got into a fight with someone outside," according to an affidavit by Detective Jeffrey Valerio. Kaplan "confirmed that he told the employees that he was with ICE and that he had asked them for their papers," and when asked why he said he was with ICE, Kaplan replied, "because I am." Online records show Kaplan faces a charge of "impersonating a public servant," a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $50,000 fine; the Alaska article is dated Jan. 27, 2026.

For the Macedon case, the immediate documents that remain to be produced are the indictment text filed Feb. 18, 2026, any accompanying arrest or booking records, and comment from the Macedon Walmart or Wayne County prosecutors; obtaining those records will determine whether the indictment names an individual and whether prosecutors allege a single theft event or multiple incidents that together total "more than 60 iPhones" and the nearly $52,000 loss.