Chinese national living in the U.S. on a student visa pleads guilty to distributing counterfeit Apple iPhones and iPads

“A Chinese national living in the United States on a student visa pleaded guilty on Friday for his role as a counterfeit distributor in a scheme to traffic and smuggle counterfeit electronics purporting to be Apple iPhones and iPads, from China into the United States,” Jack Purcher reports for Patently Apple.

“Jianhua ‘Jeff’ Li, 43, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Kevin McNulty of the District of New Jersey to one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods and labels and to smuggle goods into the United States, and one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods,” Purcher reports. “Li will be sentenced on May 30.”

“According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court, from July 2009 through February 2014, Mr. Li, working through his company Dream Digitals, conspired with Andreina Becerra, Roberto Volpe, Rosario LaMarca, and others to smuggle and traffic into the United States from China more than 40,000 electronic devices and accessories, including iPads and iPhones, along with labels and packaging bearing counterfeit Apple trademarks,” Purcher reports. “Mr. Li also received payments totaling over $1.1 million in sales proceeds from U.S. accounts into his bank accounts. Becerra, Volpe and LaMarca have also pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. LaMarca was sentenced on July 20, 2017 to 37 months in prison and Becerra and Volpe are awaiting sentencing.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Wow, this went on for nearly five years?!

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]