It is being reported that the person who took the next-generation iPhone from the Gourmet Haus Staudt on March 18 after it was left there by Apple engineer Gray Powell following a birthday celebration and later sold the device to Gizmodo for a whopping USD$5000 has been identified.
Brian J. Hogan, a 21-year-old resident of Redwood City, California, says although he was paid by tech site Gizmodo, he believed the $5,000 payment wasn’t strictly a “sale.” Rather, it was an agreement with Gizmodo for an exclusive story. Gizmodo emphasized to him “that there was nothing wrong in sharing the phone with the tech press,” according to his attorney Jeffrey Bornstein. Gizmodo was to help the finder return the phone to its rightful owner, or give it back.
The San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office is actively investigating the case of lost iPhone 4G and has spoken with Hogan to determine whether criminal charges are warranted or not, Hogan has yet to be charged with any crime. His attorney says he is willing to cooperate with authorities.
The person with knowledge of all facts said that the decision to sell has come only after a series of failures to track down the “actual” owner of lost iPhone 4g. Finally, Gizmodo, agreed to pay USD$ 5000.
According to the report, Hogan was only able to access the device’s Facebook application before it was remotely wiped out completely via mobileMe software, and only later did he discover that he was in possession of an iPhone 4G prototype device. A friend of Hogan’s reportedly called AppleCare on Hogan’s behalf in a failed attempt to return the device and tried to find someone who can transfer his call to Gray Powell, but was ignored by Apple representatives. No one took him seriously. This shows the extent of Hogan’s effort and intentions to return the iPhone 4G prototype to its owner.
“He regrets his mistake in not doing more to return the phone,” says Bornstein’s statement. “Even though he did obtain some compensation from Gizmodo, Brian thought that it was so that they could review the phone.”
According to reports Hogan is a resident of Redwood City, about a mile from the Gourmet Haus Staudt bar where he found the fourth generation iPhone prototype model. Nobody was at home when Wired journalists knocked on the door earlier this week.
His attorney says he recently transferred schools and will resume his college education in the fall. He has been working part time at a church-run community center giving swimming lessons to children and volunteered at a Chinese orphanage last year while he was enrolled in a study-abroad program.
“He also volunteers to assist his aunt and sister with fundraising for their work to provide medical care to orphans in Kenya,” his attorney says. “Brian is the kind of young man that any parent would be proud to have as their son.”
After Gizmodo published a feature article on the next-generation iPhone, Apple representatives attempted to search Hogan’s home, but were turned away by a roommate. Apple Inc. approached local police on account of “lost/stolen” real next generation iPhone 4G HD which was reviewed and dismantled by Gizmodo last week (read the complete story here). Law enforcement officials then became involved in the situation at the request of Apple. Gizmodo’s Editor Jason Chen’s equipment were seized by California’s Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team. The Electronic Frontier Foundation calls an illegal search. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Civil Liberties Director Jennifer, the search and seizure of Jason Chen’s computer equipment in his unoccupied house violated both state and federal laws.
Via – Wired
