A former senior Foxconn manager was recently indicted for stealing 5,700 iPhones in China to pocket around $1.56 million. Factoring in his accomplices, the entire scheme made $2.2 million between 2013 and 2014 by stealing only the iPhones which were supposed to be scrapped on the manufacturing line, and selling them to various shops in China, according to a report by Asia One (via Business Insider).

The ringleader, identified only by his family name Tsai, was reported as having instructed eight other employees to smuggle out thousands of iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s devices in order to sell them illegally. The operation was caught during an internal audit of the Shenzhen-based Foxconn factory, and Tsai was arrested this year for running the operation, and then released on bail.

iphone5sstack
Tsai has now been charged with breach of trust and faces a maximum of ten years as a jail sentence if found guilty. It wasn't made clear when the final verdict on the matter will be reached.

Tsai and his accomplices sold the testing phones, which were supposed to be scrapped, to stores in Shenzhen and made nearly Tw$50 million (S$2.2 million) from 2013 to 2014, said the New Taipei district prosecutor's office. Foxconn reported the case to Taiwanese authorities following an internal audit and Tsai was questioned after he returned to the island earlier this year and was released on bail.

In August, it was reported that Foxconn's profits had declined 31 percent in the second quarter of 2016, affected by the iPhone sales slump Apple faced at the same time this year. For the entire quarter, Foxconn made 17.7 billion New Taiwan dollars, down from NT$25.7 billion a year prior.

Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

miknos Avatar
91 months ago
If Apple were a government company, that thief would be dead! Imagine $1.5mil in China! I would move to Thailand to get 5 wives 30years my junior (maybe a ladyboy since I don't like to discriminate) and eat shrimp and heavy cocktails everyday! Don't know the laws but also the best painkillers money can buy!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mejsric Avatar
91 months ago
5,700 iPhones! Thats a big pocket he got there.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DonutHands Avatar
91 months ago
$2.2 mil total profit. 5700 phones averaging to about $400 street price sounds about right to me. Have to consider these may have varied in condition and capacity. Probably not packaged for retail either.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
avtella Avatar
91 months ago
And should Tim continue manufacturing products outside of USA? But then again, it could happen in usa.
I remember when I ordered my LG G2 from Sprint and a day later it was said that a truck full of them was stolen (US), guy abandoned the truck with the phones still there and ran lol. So yeah it can happen here too.
[doublepost=1480709193][/doublepost]
$263 per phone for a dodgy phone is quite a lot of money.
[doublepost=1480708727][/doublepost]
What slave labour? He goes to jail, I don't think he will have to do any slave labour.
I think NBC or another channel did an investigation on counterfeit products in China a while back. The police would go to the homes of the accused have a nice chit chat drink tea "arrest" them and then release them fairly quickly. When asked about the laxity one of the officers pretty much said companies should just deal with it. It's probably worse legally in this case where the guy was outright stealing but I highly doubt it's to the extent some imagine (i.e. hard labor).
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pat500000 Avatar
91 months ago
And should Tim continue manufacturing products outside of USA? But then again, it could happen in usa.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I7guy Avatar
91 months ago
And should Tim continue manufacturing products outside of USA? But then again, it could happen in usa.
Exactly we know Bernie madoff was above board.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

apple card 1

Apple Ending Apple Card Partnership With Goldman Sachs

Tuesday November 28, 2023 3:09 pm PST by
Apple is ending its credit card partnership with Goldman Sachs, according to The Wall Street Journal. Apple plans to stop working with Goldman Sachs in the next 12 to 15 months, and it is not yet clear if Apple has established a new partnership for the Apple Card. Apple and Goldman Sachs will dissolve their entire consumer partnership, including the Apple Card and the Apple Savings account....
iOS 17

Everything New in iOS 17.2 Beta 4

Tuesday November 28, 2023 12:18 pm PST by
Apple is wrapping up development on iOS 17.2, with the update expected to come out in December. While we're getting to the end of the beta testing period, Apple is still tweaking features and adding new functionality. We've rounded up everything new in the fourth beta of iOS 17.2. Default Notification Sound Under Sounds & Haptics, there's a new "Default Alerts" section that allows you to ...
iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.1.2 With Security Fixes

Thursday November 30, 2023 10:12 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2, small updates to the iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 operating systems that Apple introduced in September. iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2 come a few weeks after the release of iOS 17.1.1, another bug fix update. iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update....
Apple 5G Modem Feature Triad

Apple to Discontinue Custom 5G Modem Development, Claim Reports

Wednesday November 29, 2023 4:19 am PST by
Apple is discontinuing in-house modem development after several unsuccessful attempts to perfect its own custom 5G modem chip, according to unconfirmed reports coming out of Asia. According to the operator of news aggregator account "yeux1122" on the Naver blog, supply chain sources related to Apple's 5G modem departments claim that the company's attempts to develop its own modem have...
All New CarPlay Five New Features Article 2

What to Expect From All-New CarPlay, Still Listed as Coming 'Late 2023'

Tuesday November 28, 2023 7:44 am PST by
At WWDC in June 2022, Apple previewed the next generation of CarPlay, promising deeper integration with vehicle functions like A/C and FM radio, support for multiple displays across the dashboard, increased personalization, and more. Apple's website still says the first vehicles with support for the next-generation CarPlay experience will be announced in "late 2023," but it has not shared...
Apple Logo

Apple Discontinued These 5 Products This Year

Monday November 27, 2023 7:03 am PST by
As the end of 2023 nears, now is a good opportunity to look back at some of the devices and accessories that Apple discontinued throughout the year. Apple products discontinued in 2023 include the iPhone 13 mini, 13-inch MacBook Pro, MagSafe Battery Pack, MagSafe Duo Charger, and leather accessories. Also check out our lists of Apple products discontinued in 2022 and 2021. iPhone Mini ...
iOS 17

iOS 17.1.2 Update for iPhone Likely to Be Released This Week

Monday November 27, 2023 8:24 am PST by
Apple will likely release iOS 17.1.2 this week, based on mounting evidence of the software in our website's analytics logs in recent days. As a minor update, iOS 17.1.2 should be focused on bug fixes, but it's unclear exactly which issues might be addressed. Some users have continued to experience Wi-Fi issues on iOS 17.1.1, so perhaps iOS 17.1.2 will include the same fix for Wi-Fi...
iOS 17

28 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in December's iOS 17.2 Update

Friday December 1, 2023 2:57 am PST by
Apple made the first beta of iOS 17.2 available to developers in October. Since then we've seen three more betas, and with each iteration Apple continues to add more new features and changes, many of which users have been anticipating for quite a while. Below, we've listed 28 new things that are coming to your iPhone when the finalized version is publicly released this December. 1. Help...