Florida man arrested for stealing from K-Mart after buying $8 million Key West island
After purchasing a multi-million dollar private island, a Florida man was arrested for stealing $300 worth of goods from K-Mart.
A Florida man was arrested Tuesday for stealing around $300 worth of house goods from his local K-Mart, just days after purchasing a multi-million dollar private island.
Andrew Lippi, of Key West, made headlines recently when he purchased Thompson Island from philanthropist Edward B. Knight for $8 million. Lippi, 59, is also a success resort owner, renting out his own 12-bedroom Key West resort for MTV's 2006 season of the "Real World." He rents out the property for around $1,800 a night on Airbnb, according to WPLG, an ABC affiliate in Miami.
Among the items stolen was a $55 Hamilton Beach coffee maker that Lippi supposedly switched out with an older coffee maker and returned for a full refund. He also bought a $165 Keurig machine that was returned for a full refund a day later, but instead of the coffee maker, the box contained a basketball.
In the arresting officer's report, Lippi said that "he did not change out any items prior to returning them." When asked about the basketball in the Keurig box, he said that the "clerk should have realized there was no coffee machine by the weight of the box."
Lippi told the Miami Herald that the arrest was due to "a commercial dispute" and wouldn't discuss the theft charges because "it's very complicated."
Lippi is scheduled to appear in court for arraignment on April 18.
This article originally appeared in IBTimes US.
This article is copyrighted by International Business Times, the business news leader