Founder of iPhone 4G prototype may be charged with theft

California resident, 21-year-old Brian Hogan, may be charged with stealing a prototype iPhone 4G phone, CNEWS reports . Brian found the phone in one of the bars, and then sold it to the website Gizmodo, which posted photos of the phone on the Internet, which was expected to premiere in June.

According to Californian laws, if the person who found the item knew who it belonged to and did not return it, then he himself can be considered a thief. In addition, selling someone else's belongings, even if they have been found, is also considered a crime. Hogan himself has already admitted that if he had known that things would turn out this way, he would have done everything possible to return the prototype to its rightful owner.

Hogan's defense also claims that he was not the one who actually found the prototype. On March 18, he was at a German bar in Redwood City with his friends and hanging out with them. At that moment, he was approached by an unfamiliar bar visitor who was sitting next to him. He handed him the prototype and asked if he was the one who had lost it. After this, the visitor hurriedly left the bar, leaving the task of finding the owner to Hogan. He, in turn, began asking a similar question to other patrons of the bar, but no one answered positively. After that, he took the prototype with him.

The Apple representative, who left the phone at the bar, claims that he returned to the establishment several times in search of the device. As a result, Apple contacted the district attorney about the theft.