The many intersecting paths of California’s international marketplace may contribute to those who buy and sell consumer electronics facing felony fraud charges. It is not improbable that you might find yourself somehow swept up in a large-scale fraud scheme involving counterfeit goods. The legal team at Turner Law understands the concerns an accused individual may have regarding a defense or how to minimize the impact of a conviction.
As reported by the Times of San Diego, an indictment revealing one of the county’s largest fraud schemes found 11 individuals charged with dozens of felony offenses. The alleged scheme involved importing into the U.S. counterfeit Apple products from overseas and then exchanging them as damaged items for genuine replacement products.
The exchanges took place at various Apple stores located across 40 states in the U.S. and also included stores in Canada. Because of Apple’s warranty policy, it was not difficult to exchange the counterfeit damaged products easily and without hesitation. After employees at the Apple stores handed over legitimate products, the defendants then allegedly shipped them back overseas and sold them for a profit.
More than 10 warrants permitted law enforcement officials to search suspected individuals’ businesses along with several vehicles and homes. Individuals whose only involvement was to purportedly carry out the counterfeit phone exchanges may not face the same multitude of offenses as the operation’s alleged ringleaders, but they could nonetheless face serious felony fraud charges.
In order to convict, prosecutors must convince juries to unanimously agree — without any reasonable doubt — that the accused individuals are guilty of the charges brought against them. More information on the topic of felony fraud charges is available on our web page.
