Man Accused Of Using Employee Keys In $27,000 Phone Theft At Stafford Cell Phone Store

STAFFORD, CT — A Windham man is accused of conspiring with an accomplice while employed at the AT&T store in Stafford to steal cell phones with thousands of dollars, state police said.

Jacob Vik, 39, was served a warrant on Nov. 4 charging him with first-degree larceny and third-degree burglary. He posted a $150,000 bond and is due in Rockvile Superior Court on Nov. 18, state police said.

A warrant accuses Vik of lending his store key and codes to an associate to steal 33 phones valued at $27,139.

The store is already being investigated by Connecticut Attorney General William Tong over "unauthorized charges added to customer accounts." Tong's civil investigation follows criminal charges filed against a former employee of an authorized AT&T dealer in Stafford over adding unauthorized lines and plans to customer accounts in "a ploy" to earn bonuses and commissions.

In the burglary case involving Vik, state police began an investigation on Sept. 30, when the phones had gone missing, according to a warrant. Surveillance images show that, three days earlier at 5 p.m., a man walked up to the door of the store with a bag or piece of paper shielding his face and used a key to open the door.

Vik was one of two staff members issued that key, according to a warrant.

The thief then used a code key to open the storage cage and take the phones, according to a warrant.

On a second warrant, Vik is accused of using credentials from another employee to enter the store database and "accelerate" payments on his personal phones. The erased charges total $2,866, according to a warrant.

For that accusation, he has been charged with third-degree computer crime, criminal impersonation and third-degree larceny.