The caller said he worked for a construction/renovation company, and Rollins' Campus Crest Communities is the firm's largest customer. Someone at Campus Crest caused the caller to be fired from his job, so when the man realized he was in possession of Ted Rollins' old cell phone . . . well, he did some searching on the Web, discovered my blog, and thought I might be interested in the phone.
While scrolling through information on the phone, the caller said he learned a lot about Campus Crest. He saw documents about a lawsuit in Alabama, apparently at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, about a girl whose apartment had been broken into--and her parents were alleging lax security and negligent supervision at the complex. (See video at the end of this post.)
The man gave me the impression that he felt the phone had journalistic value, because of Ted Rollins' status as CEO of a major Wall Street-supported company, and he wanted to send me the phone. I told him that I didn't see a problem with that, as long as the phone had, in fact, been given to him, and thus, was his property.
It turns out the man was interested in more than journalism--he wanted to turn a profit. In an e-mail, he offered to give me the phone in exchange for $750. I said, no thanks, and that was the end of it.
Who was the guy? I don't know. He used an e-mail account--thebelk@hushmail.com--that apparently was designed to hide his identity.
What were his real motivations? I don't know, but my No. 1 guess is that he was trying to pull some sort of scam on me, perhaps at the instigation of someone connected to Ted Rollins. I notified Ted Rollins via e-mail about the episode, on the off chance that the man was trying to pull a scam on him. I received no reply, so that makes me think I was the likely target.
As for alleged pornographic images on the phone, referenced in an earlier post, I doubt that they existed. And if they did, I'm not sure they qualified as child pornography, based on the description I was given. The caller seemed to think that Ted Rollins was at risk of criminal prosecution because of the images, but I find that unlikely.
Was wrongdoing involved in all of this? I think it's possible. To make false representations, in an effort to sell a cell phone that probably does not exist or is not in your possession, might qualify as attempted wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. 1343.
I intend to research that issue further before deciding what, if anything, I should do about this.
Previously in the series:
How Did An iPhone Belong To CEO Ted Rollins Come To Play Central Role In Curious Con Game? (July 9, 2013)
A Glimpse at Information on Ted Rollins' Cell Phone Raises Questions About Alabama Divorce Case (July 11, 2013)
Man Who Claims To Have CEO Ted Rollins' iPhone Describes Scheme To Deceive Stockholders (July 18, 2013)