NASHUA – Police acting on reports that a man allegedly produced fraudulent business ID numbers in an attempt to purchase high-end iPhones at two south Nashua stores during Christmas weekend promptly located the suspect and took him into custody, reports state.

Tadesse Heye, 52, of 820 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, Massachusetts, faces two counts of theft by deception, felonies, and one count of possession of a fictitious driver’s license, a misdemeanor, on which he was arraigned Monday in Hillsborough County Superior Court-South.

Judge Charles Temple set Heye’s bail at $5,000 cash or surety, noting in his bail orders that Heye allegedly has “a significant history of defaults” as well as an active arrest warrant out of Massachusetts, and cited “the nature and circumstances surrounding the alleged crimes” in setting Heye’s bail.

Temple also wrote that the court would consider reducing Heye’s bail to personal recognizance if he can provide proof of residency and verify to the court the status of his mental health treatment, according to the order.

If he makes bail in the meantime, Heye is to have no contact with the Braintree, Massachusetts business whose identity he allegedly used in the attempted purchases, and must sign a waiver of extradition and live at his Cambridge address, the order states.

According to police reports, officers were called to the Verizon Wireless store at 258 Daniel Webster Hwy. for a report of fraud. Upon arrival, they were told that a man, later identified as Heye, was allegedly attempting to purchase five Apple iPhone XS Max cellphones, allegedly using a business identification number of the Braintree company.

The store manager told police he had contacted the company to verify the documents, but the company owner said he has no employees or company representatives by that name, and that nobody should have those company documents in their possession.

When officers spoke with Heye, police said, he “repeatedly apologized,” and cited “financial troubles,” the reports state. Heye allegedly acknowledged he was not affiliated with the Braintree business.

In the meantime, the officers received information that a man allegedly using the same fraudulent documents attempted to purchase five of the same iPhone model from the AT&T store at 296 Daniel Webster Hwy., police said.

Officers took Heye into custody and transported him to police headquarters for booking, during which, police said, they found he was allegedly “in possession of various documents relating to businesses in Massachusetts and Texas,” along with a fictitious Texas driver’s license and about $4,800 in cash.

Heye allegedly “mumbled utterances regarding the cash,” police said, indicating he allegedly received the money from selling cellphones.

He also made references to physical and mental health problems, police said, and told officers the “people” he works for “would kill” him if he didn’t get their money or the cell phones.

The statements, police said in the report, “are a clear indication (Heye) is fully aware his actions were unlawful and illegal.”

Heye is next due in court on March 6 for a dispositional conference.

Dean Shalhoup can be reached at 594-1256, dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com, or @Telegraph_DeanS.