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It's always satisfying to see criminals convicted. 5,000 iPhones is industrial scale fraud, with its own supply chains. They might spill the beans and expose the rest of the crew.
 
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Having been an employee, I can attest that there were gentlemen who would often come in with a pile of iPhones that wouldn’t power on that were looking to swap them out for new, working devices.

Were you around for when they introduced the tools to catch it and combat it? (Not mentioning the exact tools in case that’s not on the internet already)
 
insane. definitely saw a lot of fraud when I worked at an Apple Store. was hard to prove said fraud sometimes, but it was happening both on the sales floor and at the Genius Bar.
Same here. I got so good at spotting fakes by looking at the iPhone typography on the device. Sometimes it was easy to spot and sometimes it was subtle. But on a legit iPhone it’s always perfect.

We actually profiled the gangs that came in with no-power phones for exchange and wouldn’t let them book a Genius appointment if the phone was obviously fake.
 
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20 years is too much. That's a homicide punishment. Not actually fair. The judicial system in the United States is actually crazy. No wonder you guys have the highest incarceration in the world.

I came here to say exactly this. It's impressive how fraud can get you the same or higher prison sentence than actual homicide in other countries.
 
I don’t get the US legal system, could someone clarify.
Why do some frauds lead to prison sentences, such as this one, while other frauds lead to $350 million dollar fines?

Is it that the rich can just pay to stay out of jail whilst the poor can’t?
 
I don’t get the US legal system, could someone clarify.
Why do some frauds lead to prison sentences, such as this one, while other frauds lead to $350 million dollar fines?

Is it that the rich can just pay to stay out of jail whilst the poor can’t?
No, it's because there are different kinds of fraud.

In this case, the defendants were charged with mail fraud, or using the mail service to commit fraud. That is a federal crime that exists regardless of the financial gain someone may have made from the fraud itself. And there are statutory penalties for committing that crime. Here's the USDOJ press release.

EDIT: The link didn't attach, let's try it again https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/...timillion-dollar-scheme-defraud-apple-inc-out
 
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Try reading the article before commenting.
Uh, I sure did Mikey which is exactly why I wrote what I wrote.

"... and are facing a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Sentencing will take place on June 21, 2024."

They are "Facing a maximum sentence" which is T0-Be-Determined since the "sentencing" hasn't even taken place. They could get a fraction of the maximum time, if not off on probation, here in the states. Maybe you should read more thoroughly yourself.
 
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No, it's because there are different kinds of fraud.

In this case, the defendants were charged with mail fraud, or using the mail service to commit fraud. That is a federal crime that exists regardless of the financial gain someone may have made from the fraud itself. And there are statutory penalties for committing that crime. Here's the USDOJ press release.
So in fact the charges that face a max twenty year sentence are not because of the fraud itself. It’s that the parties made the mail system complicit in a crime?
It’s the abuse of the system that is being punished?
 
So when they get out they'll have the new iPhone 38!!
I happened to have googled this yesterday, but there’s already been 38 iterations of the phone if you include SE and max and pro and mini and whatever else.
 
Up to 20 years? Damn, that's incredible... And to think that in the US, voluntary manslaughter incarceration is "for a period of no more than 15 years".

Someone could have died and they'd have got a lower maximum sentence. LOL

Ah, the US... gotta love their priorities...
20 years is grotesque. They should be fined…no jail
 
There's a lot of brouhaha about the 20 years. That's the statutory maximum sentence for their crimes, but that is not how long they will actually face (unless they've been repeatedly busted for committing mail fraud or other crimes).

Their sentence will be decided according to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines which takes into account their offense level and their criminal history, and uses a chart to determine the number of months they'll serve.

I hope MacRumors updates us on June 21st with their sentence.
 
Thankfully in the UK they would probably only get a couple of years or even better a community order. It’s hard to get upset about property crimes especially those against multinational corporations. The sentencing in US is crazy, didn’t you guys give a life without parole sentence to someone who stole a slice of pizza?
 
Why did they think they could get away from it?
Apparently they did for a couple of years and over 5,000 phones worth about $3,000,000. They didn't drop by a CVS and grab a bunch of feminine products without paying. They had to either themselves, or with their team, send in those 5,000 phones and Apple obviously didn't catch the issue or do anything about it before the 5,000 phones were exchanged.

How they got caught? That's a different story. I wonder how they gamed the whole serial number system at Apple.
 
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