[ad_1]
A Chinese national and former engineering student in Oregon pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a charge of smuggling counterfeit goods as part of a ploy to defraud Apple on about 1,500 iPhones.
According to court records, the US Customs and Border Protection Service opened an investigation in 2017 on a number of counterfeit iPhone shipments that took them to Quan Jiang. The investigators said that Jiang had told them in an interview in December of this year that he regularly received from China packages containing 20 to 30 unusable iPhones, which he would trade for legitimate iPhones. through Apple's warranty program claiming that they would not turn on.
Jiang told investigators that after exchanging fake iPhones for legitimate Apple products, in person or online, he would send them back to China where they were sold for hundreds of dollars. In return, Jiang would receive a reduction of money. These funds were allegedly given to Jiang's mother, who lives in China and deposited the money into her account.
Although Jiang used various pseudonyms as well as the names of friends and family members to carry out this program, Apple's records showed that it seemed linked to 3,069 claims under warranty, either by name, mailing address, e-mail address or IP address, according to the newspaper. court documents.
According to Apple's records, 1,576 warranty claims were denied, but Jiang was able to obtain 1,493 replacement iPhones from the company. As each replacement phone is valued by Apple at $ 600, the losses incurred by the company amount to nearly $ 900,000.
"Counterfeiting compromises trade and inevitably leads to higher prices for goods that benefit millions of consumers," said US District Attorney Billy J. Williams in a statement. "The investigators who have worked on this case and others alike are providing an invaluable public service to American businesses, entrepreneurs and consumers, preserving a competitive market free of criminal interference."
Apple did not immediately return a request for comment.
Jiang faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $ 2 million, double the amount of his income, whichever is greater. He must also pay Apple $ 200,000 in compensation as part of its plea agreement. His sentence is scheduled for late August.
[ad_2]
Source link