An international trafficker of counterfeit Apple products received a prison sentence

On Monday, 25 March 2024, Zhiwei "Allen" Liao was sentenced to 51 months in prison for orchestrating and leading an international conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit Apple products.

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The court also ordered the confiscation of two homes, $120,370 and more than 200 Apple devices seized during the investigation. According to court documents, Zhiwei Liao and his brothers, Zhimin Liao and Zhiting Liao, led an international exchange fraud scheme involving more than 10,000 counterfeit iPhones and iPads. The Liao brothers imported counterfeit iPhones and iPads from China that looked like the real thing and had serial numbers matching those of genuine Apple devices that were under warranty and had previously been sold to customers in the United States and Canada.

Under the direction of the Liao brothers, co-conspirators visited hundreds of Apple shops throughout the United States and Canada and attempted to exchange the counterfeit iPhones and iPads for genuine ones, resulting in $6.1 million in losses to Apple, Inc. Zhiwei Liao then shipped the fraudulently obtained but genuine Apple products primarily to China, where they were sold at an inflated price.

Source: Justice, Phonearena