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In the United States, two Chinese citizens have been sentenced to 57 and 54 months in prison for defrauding Apple of more than $2.5 million in exchange for genuine 6,000 counterfeit iPhones.
From July 2017 to December 2019, Haotian Sun, Pengfei Xue, and their accomplices Wen Jin Gao and Dian Luo used Apple's program to replace non-working counterfeit iPhones with genuine devices.
Court documents allege the perpetrators' goal was "unjust enrichment" by obtaining genuine smartphones after handing over counterfeit ones for repair and replacement.
The counterfeit devices were shipped from Hong Kong to Commercial Mail Receiving Agency mailboxes at UPS locations in the United States. To create these mailboxes, the scammers used their real student IDs and driver's licenses.
According to investigators, Chinese citizens sent counterfeit iPhones with fake IMEI and serial numbers to Apple retail stores and authorized service providers.
Apple provided them with replacement iPhones via a number of carriers, including FedEx, DHL, and UPS. The devices were then shipped back to Hong Kong, where they were sold and the parties involved in the scheme split the proceeds.
Apple customers can return defective iPhones by mail, at Apple retail stores, or through Apple Authorized Service Providers for new ones within one year of purchase.
Fraudsters transferred more than 6,000 counterfeit iPhones to Apple, which resulted in losses for the company in the amount of more than $2.5 million, the US Department of Justice writes.
U.S. postal inspectors arrested Sun and Xue in late 2019. Both were convicted in February of mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Sun was sentenced to 57 months in prison and Xue to 54 months. They were ordered to pay the company more than $1 million and nearly $400,000 in restitution.
Source
From July 2017 to December 2019, Haotian Sun, Pengfei Xue, and their accomplices Wen Jin Gao and Dian Luo used Apple's program to replace non-working counterfeit iPhones with genuine devices.
Court documents allege the perpetrators' goal was "unjust enrichment" by obtaining genuine smartphones after handing over counterfeit ones for repair and replacement.
The counterfeit devices were shipped from Hong Kong to Commercial Mail Receiving Agency mailboxes at UPS locations in the United States. To create these mailboxes, the scammers used their real student IDs and driver's licenses.
According to investigators, Chinese citizens sent counterfeit iPhones with fake IMEI and serial numbers to Apple retail stores and authorized service providers.
Apple provided them with replacement iPhones via a number of carriers, including FedEx, DHL, and UPS. The devices were then shipped back to Hong Kong, where they were sold and the parties involved in the scheme split the proceeds.
Apple customers can return defective iPhones by mail, at Apple retail stores, or through Apple Authorized Service Providers for new ones within one year of purchase.
Fraudsters transferred more than 6,000 counterfeit iPhones to Apple, which resulted in losses for the company in the amount of more than $2.5 million, the US Department of Justice writes.
U.S. postal inspectors arrested Sun and Xue in late 2019. Both were convicted in February of mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Sun was sentenced to 57 months in prison and Xue to 54 months. They were ordered to pay the company more than $1 million and nearly $400,000 in restitution.
Source
