Two Maryland scammers have been sentenced to prison for stealing more than 6,000 iPhones.
Two Chinese men have been sentenced to prison for defrauding Apple by swapping thousands of fake iPhones for real ones. The elaborate scheme cost the tech giant more than $2.5 million.
Counterfeit more than 6,000 iPhones cost Apple $2.5 million.
Specifically, Haotian Sun and Pengfei Xue purchased fake or damaged iPhones, then changed the serial numbers to make them look like real ones and qualify for AppleCare. They then took these "modified" iPhones to Apple stores to request repairs. Because they could not be repaired, Apple was forced to replace them under warranty.
By repeating this trick more than 6,000 times, Sun and Xue seized a large number of real iPhones and sold them on the market for illegal profits.
After being convicted by a jury, the judge sentenced Sun to 57 months in prison and Xue to 54 months in prison. They were also ordered to pay more than $1.4 million in restitution.
This case once again shows the sophistication of fraudulent activities involving iPhones and Apple products. The sentences of these two scammers should be seen as a warning to those who inte
Haotian Sun and Pengfei Xue, residents of Germantown, Maryland, were convicted by a federal jury on Tuesday of defrauding Apple of millions of dollars worth of iPhones . The two were convicted of conspiracy to commit email fraud, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, according to a press release from the DC U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Illustration photo.
From May 2017 to September 2019, Sun, Xue, and other co-conspirators attempted to obtain genuine iPhones from Apple by sending counterfeit iPhone models through Apple’s repair program. The counterfeit iPhone models were received from Hong Kong and sent to UPS mailboxes in the Washington, DC, area.
They then sent the fake iPhones with fake serial numbers and IMEIs to both Apple retailers and Apple Authorized Service Providers. Evidence shows that the scammers successfully exchanged 5,000 fake iPhones, potentially costing Apple more than $3 million.
The two were arrested in December 2019. US District Judge Timothy J. Kelly is scheduled to sentence them on June 21, 2024.
