iPod scammer guilty to money laundering and fraud
On April 6, the notorious Apple scammer who tricked a world-famous company out of 9 000 iPod shuffles, named Nicholas Woodhams, pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and money laundering in federal court.
A 23-year-old scammer ran an iPod Mechanic repair shop in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He developed a scheme aimed to take advantage of Apple’s warranty program by means of using bogus serial numbers in order to get 9 000 iPod replacements without returning the originals.
As Apple’s return policy requires to ship the defective unit back to the company, Nicholas Woodhams worked out a plan that involved pre-paid VISA gift cards and a UPS Store mailbox. As a result, the scammer managed to get around this rule. When Apple tried to charge for the unreturned item, the VISA cards rejected the charges. So, the plan worked well and Woodhams succeeded to get 9 000 free iPod Shuffles, which he sold through his website.
Woodhams is to be sentenced, but he has already agreed to give up property that was obtained through his fraudulent scheme, including a house, cars, and more than USD 57 000 in cash.