FILE – In this March 9, 2015 file photo, Apple CEO Tim Cook talks about the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus during an Apple event in San Francisco. IPhone owners from several states sued Apple Inc. for not disclosing sooner that it issued software updates deliberately slowing older-model phones so aging batteries lasted longer, saying Apple’s silence led them to wrongly conclude that their only option was to buy newer, pricier iPhones. The allegations were in a lawsuit filed Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017, in Chicago federal court on behalf of five iPhone owners. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A Chinese man has been sentenced to three years and one month in federal prison for trafficking fake and altered Apple iPhones.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Portland said Quan Jiang was also sentenced Monday to three years’ supervised release after he completes his sentence.
Prosecutors said that over the span of two years, Jian sent around 3,000 fake iPhones, imported from Hong Kong, to Apple, saying they wouldn’t turn on and should be replaced under warranty.
Apple responded by sending almost 1,500 replacement iPhones, each with an approximate resale value of $600.
Jian, a former engineering student at a community college in Albany, Oregon, pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods. He faced a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
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