Does Best Buy Trade In check the IMEI status of a phone before they accept it?

I have an iPhone 6s with T-Mobile that was financed back in February of last year. I couldn't afford the high payments of my equipment installment plan combined with the monthly service fee so I quit paying on it and got a cheaper android prepaid phone.

As a result, T-Mobile blacklisted the IMEI of my iPhone due to non-payment. I'm pretty much stuck with an iPod Touch since it can't be activated anymore until it's paid off. I would like to get a more expensive android phone since I'm kinda used to android by now so I looked on Best Buy's site and they have a trade in program.

For an iPhone 6s of my condition and storage capacity, they'd give $187 which I could use toward a better phone. However would they check the IMEI status before accepting it or would they just take the phone as/is?

You do understand that in the current situation you are not actually the owner of the phone, T-Mobile is. If you were to sell it you could end up with a conviction for theft from T-Mobile, and a conviction for fraud from BestBuy!

Just consider if this were a rent-to-buy car, and you'd stopped the payments, the situation is EXACTLY the same!

Best Buy won't accept a phone that is blacklisted or marked as lost/stolen.