Chinese National, Three Others Plead Guilty in Apple Counterfeiting Scheme
A Chinese national who was living in the U.S. on a student visa pleaded guilty on Friday to charges of trafficking in counterfeit goods and conspiracy over a plot to sell Chinese-made Apple knockoffs to U.S. customers.
According to a Department of Justice press release, 43-year-old Jianhua “Jeff” Li’s company Dream Digitals conspired with at least three others to smuggle over 40,000 Chinese-made “electronic devices and accessories, including iPads and iPhones, along with labels and packaging bearing counterfeit Apple trademarks.” In the process, Li netted some $1.1 million in sales revenue from customers who believed they were buying actual Apple products. He also smuggled in parts separately from the counterfeit labels in order to assemble the electronics stateside, part of an effort to avoid detection by customs officials.
“Proceeds from the sales of the devices were funneled back to the co-conspirators’ accounts in Florida and New Jersey via structured cash deposits and a portion of the proceeds was then transferred to conspirators in Italy, further disguising the source of the funds,” the DOJ wrote.
