Apple suffers millions in losses after the group replaced original iPhones with fakes in the United States; understand

The suspects changed 16 thousand devices between 2015 and 2024; The gang was arrested and faces up to 20 years in prison

A group of five Chinese people have been arrested in the United States after being accused of trading iPhone and original iPads for fakes in official iPad stores Apple in the state of California. The fraud cost big tech coffers $12.3 million (around R$64 million).

According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the counterfeit devices had the same serial number as the genuine ones. Those numbers were associated with real consumers and had extensive insurance services.

According to investigations, between December 2015 and March 2024 the group exchanged 16 thousand devices in the brand’s official store network. As justification, they claimed that the devices did not turn on or were physically damaged.

“Defendants knowingly and fraudulently represented that the returned counterfeit Apple devices were genuine but were broken or nonfunctional and were covered by the company’s warranty programs,” the Justice Department statement read.

“In many cases, they drove all over Southern California in a single day and visited up to 10 different Apple stores where they returned the devices,” the department added. The original devices, obtained illegally by the suspects, were resold in China and the United States. If convicted, the five men face up to 20 years in prison.

Source: Terra

Rose

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