Two Chinese students attending college in Oregon are accused of fraud. According to The Oregonian, they face criminal prosecution due to the fact that they illegally received almost $1 million from Apple by taking advantage of gaps in the company's return policy.
Beginning in 2017, two suspects allegedly smuggled thousands of counterfeit iPhones into the United States from China, which they then sent to Apple support for repair or replacement, claiming that the counterfeit devices would not turn on.
In many cases, Apple replaced counterfeit devices with real iPhones, which ultimately resulted in losses for the company of approximately $895.
Yangyang Zhou, a fresh engineering graduate from Oregon State University, was allegedly responsible for shipping the counterfeit devices to the United States and sending the real iPhones back to China, where they were sold. His accomplice Quan Jiang, who attends Lynn Benton Community College, delivered counterfeit phones to the Apple Store, demanding replacements.
According to the suspects, they did not know that the smartphones were counterfeit.
According to a US Department of Homeland Security agent, the scheme worked largely because Apple Store employees could not verify the authenticity of the devices because they would not turn on. Apparently, Apple did not require proof of purchase of the smartphone to replace it.
Source: 3dnews.ru