iPod Repairman Charged with Shuffle & Switch Fraud

An independent iPod repairman was charged with fraud and money laundering after acquiring more than 9,000 replacement iPod Shuffles by entering serial numbers into Apple’s Web site.

Nicholas Woodhams, 23, then sold the replacement iPods for $49 each, according to court documents filed Wednesday in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Through his repair business, Woodhams knew iPod owners could get a replacement if their Shuffle had problems.

“Through trial and error, the defendant determined that he could guess valid, warrantied serial numbers and enter them into Apple’s Web site for ‘replacement’ units without ever in fact purchasing or possessing the ‘original’ units,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler wrote.

If Apple didn’t receive a defective iPod in return, the company would charge the cost of a replacement to a credit card provided by the customer. But Woodhams used credit or debt cards that rejected the transaction, the prosecutor said.

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His lawyer Randall Levine told the Associated Press: “He is one of those guys who is computer-savvy. This is a very bright man who did not fully appreciate the seriousness of the situation.”

Image used with a CC license, thanks to re-ality

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