5 charged in alleged scheme involving thousands of counterfeit iPhones and other Apple devices

Five people have been charged in connection with an operation that led to more than 16,000 counterfeit Apple devices being returned over more than nine years in exchange for authentic products that were then resold, the U.S. Department of Justice announced in a news release Friday, May 31.

From December 2015 to March 2024, Yang Song, 40, of Corona, and Junwei Jiang, 37, of Los Angeles, allegedly received counterfeit Apple iPhones, iPads, and other devices from China. Along with co-conspirators Zhengxuan Hu, 26, of Alhambra, Yushan Lin, 30, of Corona, and Shuyi Xing, 34, of Corona, the defendants allegedly returned devices to Apple as if they were genuine, legitimately purchased, and eligible for Apple’s warranty programs.

Friday’s statement said the suspects returned and attempted to return more than 16,000 counterfeit Apple devices, causing Apple at least $12.3 million in losses.

The devices shipped from China were designed to look like genuine Apple devices. The real identification numbers and serial numbers on the counterfeit devices impersonated authentic products purchased under Apple’s manufacturer warranty and extended warranty program and owned by real people throughout the United States, according to the DOJ.

The suspects claimed that the products were broken or non-operational and were covered by the company’s warranty programs. Some of the false reasons given to Apple store employees were that the device would not power on, that it was physically damaged, or that it had other defects, the affidavit alleges, prosecutors said

The defendants visited multiple Apple stores daily throughout Southern California, including as many as ten Apple stores in Pasadena, Irvine, Brea, and Rancho Cucamonga, where they would allegedly return the devices.

Apple allegedly would ship the defendants a genuine replacement or repaired Apple device to either an Apple store, where they returned to pick up the new device, or to the dozens of mailboxes that they allegedly rented across Southern California.

To avoid detection, the defendants rented dozens of mailboxes at UPS stores across Southern California to receive counterfeit devices from China and genuine replacement devices from Apple.

Additionally, when conducting the return, they would misspell mailing addresses to disguise the numerous fraudulent returns and used aliases to make appointments at Apple stores.

After receiving the authentic ones, the defendants allegedly shipped the genuine devices to co-conspirators in the United States and abroad, primarily in China, where they were resold at profit.

“All of the defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, seven counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of mail fraud, and one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods,” the DOJ’s statement said.