Fail.
Apple is not "fleecing" you, or anyone else (in this case). Apple is simply notifying its costumers that an accessory has not been through the authorized quality assurance program, and as a result, may not work correctly.
It would have been just as easy to disable the connector, forcing you to go buy 4 more authorized cables.
Furthermore, Apples financial practices make sense. Apple is going to make sure the profit margin is where it needs to be. Making Apple pay more in taxes just makes you pay more for your next iDevice.
If you don't like that Apple did not pay as much as you think they should, feel free to donate some of your money to the IRS (they need it to send federal employees to more conferences).
Certainly, Apple should be allowed to warn you that your cable is not official, but you should be able to disable the warning and not have to see it each and every time you attach your cable.