SD Man Sentenced for Trafficking Counterfeit iPhones, iPads with Brothers

A San Diego man charged along with his brothers for trafficking fraudulently obtained iPhones and iPads was sentenced Monday to four years and three months in prison.

Prosecutors said Zhiwei “Allen” Liao, 34, led a scheme in which counterfeit iPhones and iPads were imported from China, then exchanged at Apple stores across the United States and Canada.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the counterfeit products looked genuine and had identification numbers that matched real iPhones and iPads.

Prosecutors said the defendants attempted to exchange more than 10,000 of the counterfeit products at stores during the scheme, which operated for around eight years.

The genuine products they received in return were then exported to people in foreign countries, resulting in a total loss of around $6.1 million to Apple.

Liao’s brothers, Zhimin and Zhiting Liao, were each sentenced last year to 41 months in prison.

Prosecutors also charged the Liao brothers’ wives for various roles in the scheme. Each of the women pleaded guilty and were sentenced to three years of probation.

City News Service contributed to this article.