What you need to know
- Two people caught taking fake iPhones into Apple Stores and having them replaced for real ones have been sentenced.
- The mother and son pair, both Chinese and living in Switzerland, sent the real iPhones to Hong Kong.
- The son has been sentenced to 40 months in jail while his mother picked up a suspended sentence.
You might remember a story from a week or so ago in which two Chinese nationals had been arrested after they brought more than 1,000 fake iPhones into Switzerland. Those iPhones were then exchanged for real ones under AppleCare+ before being returned to Hong Kong. The pair have now been sentenced.
According to a Securing Industry report, the 34-year-old son has been sentenced to spend 40 months in jail while also being prevented from living in Switzerland for seven years. He's lived there for two decades.
As for his 56-year-old mother, she's gotten off with an 18-month suspended sentence.
The pair had claimed their innocence, saying they'd no idea the iPhones were fake.
The mother and son said in court that they had not known that the iPhones were fakes. They only had the devices repaired in good faith on behalf of a friend from Hong Kong. Chinese people have problems with Apple's service time and again. You would therefore have trusted the contact person. It is the presumption of innocence.
The fake iPhones were given the same IMEI as legitimate handsets that were covered by AppleCare+ and Apple was told they were water damaged. Handsets with water damage aren't routinely checked in-store becuase of the risk of fire.
