Crime blotter: Last two defendants sentenced in counterfeiting scheme

A woman is robbed after visiting the Apple Store; a fake NFL swindler used apps and FaceTime calls, and an AirTag signal led to the rescue of 20 cats, all in this week's Apple Crime Blotter.

The latest in an occasional AppleInsider series, looking at the world of Apple-related crime.

Two sentenced to prison for "fake iPhones" scheme

Two of the Chinese nationals who carried out the nine-year scheme to return counterfeit Apple products imported from China to Apple Stores throughout California have been sentenced to prison.

According to The Orange County Register, Wenhui Huang, described as the group's ringleader, was sentenced to six years and six months in federal prison. Yang Song, described as the second-in-command, received just under five years.

The two were also ordered to pay $16.2 million and 16.9 million, respectively, in restitution.

Both men had pleaded guilty in 2025 and are the last of the six defendants to receive sentences.

Woman robbed after Apple Store visit

A woman who purchased a MacBook and other products from an Apple Store in Houston was robbed soon afterward, after two suspects followed her.

KTRK reports the incident, took place at the Memorial City Mall in late August. The 51-year-old woman was putting her items in her car when a suspect ran up and took a bag.

Surveillance video showed the suspect getting into a GMC Arcadia, and then Flock cameras caught the vehicle at a cell phone repair store. A subsequent traffic stop led to the arrest of two suspects.

Police arrested both suspects and charged them with robbery, and they recovered the stolen items.

Three arrested for stealing iPads from Target

Elsewhere in the Houston area, three suspects were arrested for stealing nearly $14,000 in iPads from a Target in Sugar Land, Texas.

According to KTRK, the three suspects, one of whom was a minor, were caught on store surveillance breaking a display case, taking items, and placing them in a garbage bag before leaving.

Police caught the suspects as they entered a car on their way out, and one attempted to flee on foot but was later caught. The group, the report said, is suspected of involvement in other thefts in the area.

Swindler who impersonated an NFL player used FaceTime calls, apps as part of scheme, prosecutors say

In the high-profile case of a man who impersonated a San Francisco 49ers player and real estate investor in order to swindle women, the man and his accomplice often used three-way FaceTime calls to show off bogus financial gains, federal prosecutors allege.

According to the Justice Department, 35-year-old Daejon Labrayae Love would meet women on dating apps and use fictitious investments to defraud them. Meanwhile 18-year-old Taylor Jamie Chan would pose as his "financial advisor."

Love also, per prosecutors, "used phone applications to create fictitious bank and investment accounts and balances which Love showed victims to legitimize the scheme."

The scheme lasted four years, until authorities arrested the two on August 24. They were charged in federal court with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.

AirTag signal leads to stolen truck, 20 cats

A truck was stolen in Tacoma, Wash., in August, containing unusual cargo: Twenty cats. However, the truck contained an AirTag, which led police to the vehicle and the felines.

KIRO reports police followed the signal and discovered the man and woman still in the car, and they were arrested. The female suspect had been attempting to feed the cats with food and water, but they still appeared emaciated and had been exposed to ringworm, police told KIRO.

The cats were taken to a shelter.

"The female [owner of the truck] had mentioned her cats were in the car," Pierce County Sheriff's Detective Josh Mills told the radio station. "The deputies asked her, 'Well, how many cats?' And she said she wasn't actually very sure."

AirTag catches a carjacker in Cleveland

A Cleveland man has been arrested after he allegedly carjacked a woman at a gas station, and an AirTag in the car helped catch him. He's now been charged in federal court with carjacking and using a gun during a violent crime.

Cleveland.com explains the 24-year-old man admitted that he carried out the carjacking of the 67-year-old woman, and wrote a letter of apology that he asked the FBI to deliver to her.

AirPods help to solve a car theft

When an idling car was stolen outside a Georgia school in mid-August, the crime was soon solved thanks to AirPods left behind in the car and video from a nearby Tesla.

According to Fox 5 Atlanta, a woman had left the car idling outside while bringing her son to school. This gave the thief the opportunity to get in the car and drive away.

The woman's AirPods, however, allowed police to track the car's location to a local subdivision, where they found the car abandoned. They discovered that the man had been dropping items, including the AirPods and the victim's wallet.

The Tesla video had clearly captured the original theft, leading to the man's arrest.

The man had claimed that he had permission to "borrow" the vehicle, but police didn't appear to buy that explanation.

Two arrested for stealing MacBook, cars and other items from home of couple that died in Africa

A man and woman were arrested in late August and charged with stealing several items, including luxury cars and a MacBook, from the home of a couple that had been killed the week before in a helicopter crash in Kenya.

According to NBC Miami, the stolen items included a Range Rover and Porsche Taycan, a MacBook, "personal and business documents, jewelry, electronics and artwork."

They were caught, the report said, after the MacBook and a spare key for the Range Rover were tracked to an address in Hialeah, where some of the stolen items were found. Both were arrested.

The man and woman were charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, grand theft of a vehicle, and grand theft.

The male of the couple, a prosecutor said, had prior convictions for burglarizing homes, money laundering, and dealing in stolen property. While his attorney produced a document alleging that the victims had granted him authorization to use their vehicles, both detectives and a friend of the victims said in court that they believed the document was fraudulent.

UPS employee accused of stealing Apple Watch

A UPS package handler in Florida has been charged with grand theft after trying to steal nearly $2,600 worth of electronics, including phones and an Apple Watch Series 11, from a UPS facility.

CBS 12 reports that, after a tip that the man was hiding stolen items under a yellow tote, supervisors found the packages there. The man typically handled heavier packages and not smaller ones, which drew suspicions, the report said.

Man arrested for iPhone-related fraud at Verizon Store

A man from New York was arrested in California for what police described as his part in a mobile identity fraud operation.

According to KRON, police say the 30-year-old man came to a Verizon Store in San Mateo, accessed a customer's Verizon account and used it to "place an unauthorized order for two Apple iPhones."

After fleeing the store in a U-Haul van, the man was apprehended by police, who used a drone to track him down.

A search of the van, the San Mateo Police Department said, discovered "numerous fictitious identification cards, blank identification cards, an ID card printer, bank cards not belonging to Simemorales, and numerous boxes of unopened iPhones."

He was charged with identity theft, forgery, and possessing a document-making device with the intent to defraud.