Tuesday, July 9, 2013

How Did An iPhone Belonging To CEO Ted Rollins Come To Play Central Role In a Curious Con Game?



Our coverage of the Rollins v. Rollins divorce case has taken a number of twists and turns, but the most bizarre twist might have come a few weeks back when a man contacted me and claimed to be in possession of Ted Rollins' iPhone.

What happened next apparently was an attempted scam on me, Ted Rollins, or perhaps both of us--and I suspect it might have constituted a federal crime. For sure, it was one of the strangest episodes since this blog started in June 2007--and that's saying something. 


This tale even includes allegations about child pornography and child abuse, although I never received evidence that such images actually exist. 
(See video at the end of this post.)

It all started with an anonymous comment to a post I had written about the Rollins divorce, which involves Birmingham resident Sherry Carroll Rollins and her ex husband Ted Rollins, who now is CEO of Campus Crest Communities and a member of the mega wealthy family behind Orkin Pest Control, Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment, and other profitable enterprises. The post in question was not new; it had been up for some time, so I was surprised to see a comment for it.


The commenter stated that he had information about Ted Rollins that might be of interest to me, so I suggested that he contact me by phone or my personal e-mail account. The man  called me--with the name and number showing up as "unknown"--and told me the following story, which comes from notes I've kept on the episode:



The caller said he worked for a company that was involved in the renovation of Campus Crest's offices in Charlotte, NC. As part of the project, he said, Campus Crest discarded numerous electronic devices--phones, cameras, laptops, etc.--and told crew members that they were welcome to take any objects from a pretty large pile. The caller said he took an iPhone and one other item--a camera, I think it was. 
When the man got home, he discovered that the iPhone included lots of information--contacts, e-mails, texts, photos, music, etc.--from its previous owner. After going through the material, the man discovered that the phone had belonged to Campus Crest's CEO. "I guess Mr. Rollins gave the phone to someone in IT, and they forgot to clear out everything and mistakenly put it in with the stuff to be thrown away," the caller told me. 
The man said he Googled Ted Rollins' name, discovered my blog, and decided that either Sherry Rollins or I might be interested in the phone. The caller also said that he had found at least two nude photos on the phone of a young person he believed to be an under-aged member of the extended Rollins family. The man said he was concerned this might constitute child pornography and raise various criminal issues. He also said the phone included images of a boy who had a black eye and apparently had somehow been roughed up.

What happened next? We will explore that in a series of upcoming posts. But for now, these questions are foremost in my mind: Who was this guy, and what in the heck was he up to?

I don't have solid answers for either question. But I did tape record our conversations, so we know what his voice sounds like, and you can check it out at the video below.

Note: I've edited the audio to delete a name that was associated with the alleged images of a nude child. 


(To be continued) 

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://youtu.be/31MGdpDeHkw

http://youtu.be/RhAGS1BooWs

you're up against what's in the videos LS and it ain't nice so the new mysteries offered up, pay attention closely to the videos and be very-very careful

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a setup...what better way to shut down your blog than to have you compromised...legally. I.e. recieving stolen property. Tread lightly, as I'm sure that people are closely monitoring your actions. Roger you have exposed, and continue to expose, the 'elite' power brokers in this state. Don't think that they will let you go unpunished...

Anonymous said...

This blog could do without that pixelated picture. That has no place anywhere.

Anonymous said...

I agree with @9:58. It sounds like someone was trying to set you up, and receiving stolen property might have been a likely charge. You were wise to steer clear of this.

Anonymous said...

Somebody has got to recognize this guy's voice. I'm guessing someone connected to Ted Rollins put him up to this.

Anonymous said...

I have heard that voice before.

Anonymous said...

When he said: talking to a friend of sherry,s about testifying in court against her.....sounded like the cell phone guy knew exactly the buttons to push to get you LS and mrs. Rollins interested in his phone......you would be in jail right now if you had met him and purchased that phone...

legalschnauzer said...

Anon at 11:25--

If you think you can put a name to the voice, please let me know. The guy said he lived in North Carolina. Not sure that's true, but he said a couple of things that indicated he was familiar with North Carolina politics.

Anonymous said...

Someone must be desperate to shut down your reporting if they would go to these lengths, LS. That tells me you really are onto something, maybe something even bigger than what you have reported so far.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if Campus Crest even was doing such a renovation at its headquarters.

legalschnauzer said...

Anon at 11:53--

You raise a good question. I found an article about an office remodel at Campus Crest HQ, so I think that part of the story is true. Here is URL:


http://www.ibe.colostate.edu/news/item.aspx/?ID=1248

Molli said...

Be ever so careful. This creeps me out.

Anonymous said...

I agree with @11:40. This makes me think someone is very nervous about your reporting.

legalschnauzer said...

Molli:

Thanks for your comment. I've got other posts coming on this subject, but I guess I can jump to the ending now. As you probably can tell, I was given an opportunity to obtain the cell phone, and I declined.

Anonymous said...

I think they were trying to set you up on a child porn charge.

Anonymous said...

Wouldn't be surprised if someone from Bradley Arant was involved in setting up this little scenario. I bet they have some outfit where they can farm out weird little jobs like this.

Unknown said...

LS, think Michael Hastings and the target needs an electronic 'device' and the mobile was designed to do exactly what that phone would do to your family and you, Michael Hastings Rest In Peace.

Good they're totally desperate.

Bad they're willing to expose how desperate they're willing to go to expose to all your readers what can happen, look out Americans you're on Obama's list and that means they'll take this kind of chance to get rid of dissent.

Understanding is real knowledgeable truth.

Anonymous said...

If authorities would get off their lazy butts, I'm pretty sure they could trace the phone calls and e-mails messages to this guy. Shouldn't be hard, but they probably would take an "Aw, no hard, no foul" approach and say, "Don't worry about it."

Anonymous said...

NSA

CIA

FBI

DHS

NSI

ETC

http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/3dseries/2013/2013_51050.htm

USA does have some real 'justice'

Anonymous said...

Possession of child porn is a crime. You don't have to have ANY intent. run away!

Anonymous said...

Since this fellow has made these statements in a public forum he should meet with his personal attorney, explain what he has and what he has done with the information, have his attorney call the FBI and arrange to meet with this person and a FBI agent in person at his attorney's office. If he won't do this I would consider it to be useless information.