Federal authorities unsealed an indictment Wednesday alleging that 14 members of an international criminal organization have been ripping off Apple to the tune of $6 million.
The organization, led by three brothers, is accused of importing over 10,000 counterfeit iPhones and iPads from China and then going to Apple stores in states across the country and Canada in order to exchange them for the real thing. They would then ship the real Apple products back to China and other foreign countries to sell them at a premium, according to the indictment.
Apple believes it was duped out of about $6 million in iPhones and iPads.
Zhiwei Liao, 31, owned two cellphone repair businesses in San Diego, and headed up the illegal operation with his brothers, Zhimin Liao, 33, and Zhiting Liao, 30, according to the indictment. Also among the alleged co-conspirators were Dao Trieu La, Zhiwei's wife; Mengmeng Zhang, Zhiting's wife; and Tam Thi Minh Nguyen, Zhimin's wife.
A seventh family member, Xiaomin Zhong, was married to the three brothers' sister and lived in China, according to the indictment.
All three brothers are naturalized U.S. citizens who were born in China.
"While a significant amount of money in any circumstance, this prosecution is about more than monetary losses," U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer said in a statement. "The manufacture of counterfeit goods -- and their use to defraud U.S. companies -- seeks to fundamentally undermine the marketplace and harms innocent people whose identities were stolen in furtherance of these activities. The United States Attorney’s Office is fully committed to bringing to justice those who seek to damage American markets and consumers through the peddling of bogus products."