A former employee of a T-Mobile store in Wisconsin is facing charges after it was alleged he had secretly taken compromising photos of a customer during a phone trade-in.
According to court documents, the ex-employee, identified as 18-year-old Michael Protudi, has been charged with two counts of Felony Invasion of Privacy. Wisconsin police allege that on December 14th, Protudi secretly took “mostly nude” photos of a customer. The photos were then saved to a USB drive and taken to Protudi’s home.
The incident was reported to the local Appleton Police Department and an investigation was launched by authorities. After questioning, Protudi was arrested and is currently being held without bail. According to court documents, Addison Borchardt, who was present during the phone trade-in, was interviewed by authorities and corroborated the incident.
At this time, it is unknown how many customers may have been affected by the incident. It is also unclear what type of phone was traded-in, though investigations continue.
T-Mobile has yet to comment on the situation, though a spokesperson for the company has confirmed that Protudi is no longer employed with T-Mobile. The spokesperson also stated that the company takes “the privacy of its customers very seriously and does not tolerate any form of information theft.”
In addition, T-Mobile has implemented a policy to protect customers from these types of incidents. The company requires all employees to have a valid background check prior to employment. There is also a complaint system in place to report any suspicious activity.
These measures are sure to provide added peace of mind for customers looking to utilize the convenience of T-Mobile’s trade-in services. In the meantime, customers should exercise caution and always keep an eye on their personal information when trading-in their devices.