Duo That Defrauded Apple Out of 5,000 iPhones With Repair Scheme Could Spend Up to 20 Years in Prison

[Steve686]

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...

It's supposed to be a deterrent and this was a conspiracy to defraud through the mail system which is a federal crime.

Sure it seems lopsided, but these people were also Chinese Nationals and you can probably guess the Federal Prosecutors were sending a message to other foreign conspirators to not defraud US companies.

 

[k1121j]

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.

They won’t serve 20 you know that right?

 

[t0rqx]

So what happened to the 5,000 iPhones?

They got shipped to the UK and sold in the UK online Apple Store. There are news about Apple selling fake iPhones in the UK via their Online store. This shows they use refunds/repairs and sell them.
https://appleinsider.com/inside/iph...t-an-iphone-instead-of-a-swapped-android-fake

 

[calikid78]

and. throw. away. the. keys.
the cost of fraud is of course built into all products and services.
may they rot in jail.

Ya, let’s lock em up and throw away the key. That way they take up bed space in a federal prison and we can pay tens of thousands of dollars a year to keep them locked up (if they have serious medical issues, that cost skyrockets) and use up bed space, meanwhile creeps who try to rape children and watch child porn get out like 5 years or less. Scamming Apple isn’t a priority. Not saying they shouldn’t be punished, but “throw away the key” seem a bit silly.

 

[laptech]

If they are Chinese citizens living in Maryland then expect China to react, possibly finding two American people in China they can arrest for something.

I do not know US law so please correct me if I am wrong but if the mail deliveries crossed state lines, doesn't this mean it becomes a federal case and thus the penalties are a lot more severe? For example, the fake iphones being shipped from China into a US port. They are then loaded onto a truck and driven across state lines to be delivered to the criminals, hence it being a federal crime.

 

[nikaru]

Being jailed for 20 years for non-violent crime, and where the victim is a large corporation that hardly noticed a few millions being leaked through this scam, is way to harsh and not even remotely proportional IMO. If we jail people for 20 years for mail fraud, any violent criminal (robbery, assault, etc) should be directly executed as the harm is significantly more meaningful. A couple of years in prison + large penalty + probation, seems to me much more adequate and proportional.

 

[cicalinarrot]

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.

Absolutely. Meanwhile, nobody will face jail for the much greater tax money that Apple stole in Europe.

 

[RandomTox]

Or let off depending on who their fathers are.

What makes you think so? Have you ever been to China? Don’t listen to too much propaganda.

 

[Antoniosmalakia]

All the political clap trap aside, I'm pretty astonished that nobody noticed that the phones were counterfeit.

 

[icymountain]

To me, the real question is how could it last so long.
I understand fraud exists and Apple may not be able to catch all frauds, but such a scale is absolutely insane.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

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?

Well, yeah… this is ‘Murica after all. Money talks.

 

[RandomTox]

All the political clap trap aside, I'm pretty astonished that nobody noticed that the phones were counterfeit.

All iPhones are made in China anyway

 

[Zest28]

Damn, I'm scared for my next genius bar appointment. If my iPhone is not genuine, I run the risk of getting 20 years in prison.

 

[AdonisSMU]

Being jailed for 20 years for non-violent crime, and where the victim is a large corporation that hardly noticed a few millions being leaked through this scam, is way to harsh and not even remotely proportional IMO. If we jail people for 20 years for mail fraud, any violent criminal (robbery, assault, etc) should be directly executed as the harm is significantly more meaningful. A couple of years in prison + large penalty + probation, seems to me much more adequate and proportional.

Oh god here comes the pro crime crowd trying to justify crime. What they did was spectacular and systemic so they deserve all the 20 Years they get. I get it if it was just a couple of iPhones. Instead, it was 5000 iPhones.

 

[Judo]

How come so many executives don't get this kind of sentencing for fraud on a way bigger scale? I feel these guys really needed to lobby congress a bit more and they would have been fine.

 

[reden]

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?

Well you have to define who and how fraud is committed. Usually if it’s a company well it’s gonna be a fine. You can’t send a company to jail but corporations are considered a person here in the US so they are held accountable. Then the government if possible will go after the people that orchestrated the fraud and they will go to prison.

 

[AdonisSMU]

Damn, I'm scared for my next genius bar appointment. If my iPhone is not genuine, I run the risk of getting 20 years in prison.

Why wouldn’t your iPhone be genuine?

 

[aknabi]

As little sympathy as I have for these scum (zero) it's still a pretty indicative signal of the oligarchical, corporatism that has infected America when the theft from the larges corporation warrants punishment on par with 2nd degree murder (~25 years after Measure 11, was 8 years before) and lighter than rape (~8.3 years after Measure 11, was ~2.5 years before).

Message to the serfs: Don't mess with your overlords.

Source: http://www.crimevictimsunited.org/measure11/sentencingcomparison.htm

 

[peneaux]

I would apply this sentence:

- You guys return the millions you got from the crime.
- You guys will pay that same amount (extra) as punishment back to Apple. Don’t have the money? You can work in prison to pay for it. We can find plenty of career options to use your labor.


I’m in favor of “returning the favor”. Funny how people think you can steal peoples property and if caught, just return the property. Criminal should compensate in kind. Can’t repay? Prison.

 

[toobravetosave]

people serve less for killing people

yall blood thirsty

 

[Someyoungguy]

Oh god here comes the pro crime crowd trying to justify crime. What they did was spectacular and systemic so they deserve all the 20 Years they get. I get it if it was just a couple of iPhones. Instead, it was 5000 iPhones.

I haven’t seen anyone write anything “pro-crime”. It’s about proportionality. Defraud Apple, throw away the key (and continue the cost to us at around $100k/year/prisoner). Crash the worldwide economy with credit default swaps, nothing.

 

[weemanpow3]

I worked as senior support at Apple and it was amazing on how much fake hardware comes through and customers putting on an act. Not just iPhones. Even though it was easy to tell it was not authentic with the tools Apple has. Policy still required it to be sent to the service depot just for it to get flagged, denied and returned to customer. Not only that, customers will call back asking why it was denied and we’re not allowed to tell them.

 

[chairguru22]

I worked at a store a long time ago and there were some shady people. I was just at one to check out Vision Pro and someone was trying to buy one with only gift cards. You can just tell.

 

[rnizlek]

Being jailed for 20 years for non-violent crime, and where the victim is a large corporation that hardly noticed a few millions being leaked through this scam, is way to harsh and not even remotely proportional IMO. If we jail people for 20 years for mail fraud, any violent criminal (robbery, assault, etc) should be directly executed as the harm is significantly more meaningful. A couple of years in prison + large penalty + probation, seems to me much more adequate and proportional.

And that's what they're almost certainly going to get. What is stated is the maximum potential sentence, almost no one is sentenced to that. The statutory maximums on a lot of the violent you offenses you mention are significantly greater than 20 years. Again, few are sentenced to them, it is just the absolute max limit.

Look, I agree that there's plenty about the US criminal justice system that needs reform. But if you're arguing for that, it's important to get the facts right. Too often in recent years a debate on policy quickly becomes detached from the facts.

A guy I knew from high school was involved in a $80m+ fraud case. I think he got six or seven years and was out in less than that.

 

[Razorpit]

Why did they think they could get away from it?

All criminals think they can, and a lot of them do.