In California, criminals stole $ 6 million from Apple, exchanging fake iPhones for real ones

In the Californian city of San Diego, a criminal gang led by three brothers from China caused Apple more than $6,1 million in damages by exchanging counterfeit phones for real ones, writes “Medusa«.

Фото: Depositphotos

The group has been operating since the 2011 year. The criminals bought fake iPhones and iPads in China (while the fakes were of high quality - in particular, their IMEI corresponded to the numbers of the real devices), then they brought them to the United States, deliberately broke them and handed them over to service centers in exchange for new, real devices. The iPhones thus obtained were sold in China and other countries, where the price is higher than in the USA.

On the subject: 35 iPhone Features You Could Not Know

Criminals, according to the FBI, were active almost throughout the country - at least in the 40 states - as well as in Canada. The group included a dozen and a half people, it was led by three brothers named Liao, naturalized immigrants from China. The remaining gang members were natives of China, Vietnam and Russia - it is reported that most of them also have US citizenship.

The FBI made 11 arrests, while confiscating 250 thousand US dollars and about 90 iPhones. The charge has 76 points - the alleged criminals are charged with fraud, a conspiracy to launder money, and identity theft. The leaders of the group face up to 20 years in prison.

On the subject: 10 Apple Secrets That Make People Ready To Get Crazy Loans For A New Model

In April, a similar scheme was disclosed in Oregon - Apple's total losses from the actions of criminals who changed fake iPhones to new ones were estimated at 1,2 million dollars. In October, a local student directly involved in exchanging and sending real phones to China and receiving 20-30 dollars for one such operation was sentenced to three years in prison and 200 thousands of dollars in fines, no sentences were reported to his accomplices. The FBI is now investigating whether there is a direct link between these crimes.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Five Effective Telemarketing Call Blocker Apps

35 iPhone Features You Could Not Know

Phones listen to the conversations of the owners: is this really so

Fatty cons of living in the US

11 ways to make money online without being scammed

What souvenirs to carry from America

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.