Scammers Who Stole $1.5 Million From Apple Sentenced to Combined 13 Years in Jail

Two scammers who stole $1.5 million from Apple over a period of three years using the company's own technology have been sentenced to a combined 13 years in prison.

Apple Logo Cash Orange 1
It was reported in September 2021 that two scammers developed a scheme to use point-of-sale devices stolen from Apple stores to generate fraudulent Apple gift cards between 2015 and 2017.

The scam was enabled through a handheld employee-only point-of-sale device called an "Isaac." Retail employees carry Isaacs around in the store, allowing them to check stock and sell products to customers wherever they are.

One of the scammers simply walked into Apple Stores across the country and waited for opportune moments to steal an Isaac device. They then sat outside the same store, still connected to its Wi-Fi network, and used the logged-in employee account on the Isaac to acquire thousands of dollars worth of digital gift cards.

The digital gift card redemption codes were then loaded into the Wallet app to generate QR codes, which were screenshot and sent via iMessage to the other conspirator, who was then able to walk into other Apple Stores and buy a range of high-value Apple devices. This process was then repeated across the country, allowing the pair to defraud Apple out of more than $1.5 million in total, according to the indictment.

One of the scammers stole $50,000 worth of digital Apple gift cards in Texas, while on the same day, his partner used the gift cards to buy thousands of dollars worth of Apple products in New York. The haul in Southlake, Texas, alone totaled $50,000 using 26 digital gift cards.

The pair were finally caught stealing Isaac devices in Apple Stores on CCTV and were eventually tracked down using their cellphone via GPS, before finally being arrested by the FBI. They subsequently pled guilty to wire fraud.

According to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Texas, the perpetrators have now been sentenced to a combined 13 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $1.26 million in restitution to Apple. It is unclear if Apple has made any changes to its internal systems and access to employee accounts on Isaacs to prevent the same scam from being attempted again.

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?

Wednesday September 24, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
With the iPhone 15 series, I did an experiment and kept my iPhone's Charge Limit set at 80 percent for an entire year. It provided an interesting look at the impact of charge limits on battery longevity, so I decided to repeat it for the iPhone 16 line. Since September 2024, my iPhone 16 Pro Max has been limited to an 80 percent charge, with no cheating. As of today, my battery's maximum...
Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Feature

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Thursday September 25, 2025 1:11 pm PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system codenamed "Charismatic," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple smart home hub concept based on rumors This is likely Apple's long-rumored "homeOS" operating system. In a report last month, Gurman said both Apple's rumored smart home hub in 2026 and tabletop robot in 2027 will run the new operating system. He said the software platform ...
AirPods Pro 3 Newsroom

Apple's 'Back to School' Offer Ends Soon, Now Applies to AirPods Pro 3

Wednesday September 24, 2025 7:20 am PDT by
Apple's annual "Back to School" promotion for students ends soon, so act fast if you want to score free AirPods with the purchase of an eligible new Mac or iPad. Until Tuesday, September 30, college students and qualifying educational staff in the U.S. can receive free AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. This is a $179 value. ...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Skipped the iPhone 17 Pro? Here's What is Rumored for iPhone 18 Pro

Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors. Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
Apple More Personal Siri Ad

Apple Responds to U.S. Class Action Lawsuit Over Delayed Siri Features

Friday September 26, 2025 6:57 am PDT by
In March, Apple delayed the launch of its personalized Siri features, and soon after the company was hit with multiple class action lawsuits over the situation. The plaintiffs said they never would have purchased an iPhone 16, or would have paid less, had they known Apple's marketing about the Siri features was false. In the U.S., all of the complaints were consolidated into one class...
50 New Features and Changes Worth Checking Out in macOS Tahoe

50 New macOS Tahoe Features and Changes Worth Checking Out

Wednesday September 24, 2025 8:43 am PDT by
Apple this month released macOS Tahoe, the latest version of the company's Mac operating system. ‌macOS Tahoe 26 adopts Apple's new Liquid Glass design along with new customizations, a new Phone app, and updated capabilities across the platform. In this article, we've selected 50 new features and lesser-known changes that are worth checking out if you're upgrading. What do you think of...

Top Rated Comments

HobeSoundDarryl Avatar
46 months ago

Smart yet not... how long did they really think it would be until they were caught. One would think that every store they hit would have a massive drawer imbalance and start looking.
Perhaps Apple uses Siri to track the drawer?

"Siri, why are we $50,000 short in the drawer today?"

"I don't know what you mean by short in the drawer today... here's what I found online for short in the drawer today."

"No Siri, in the register drawer... accounting... accounting"

"I don't know what you mean by register drawer... accounting... accounting... here's what I found online for register drawer... accounting... accounting"

;)

But more seriously: sounds like "Issac" needs some touchID or faceID.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sniffies Avatar
46 months ago
To prevent this scam from happening again, Apple upgrades all Apple Isaacs and Apple Newtons to Apple Alberts.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
johncarync Avatar
46 months ago
I looked up the two men who perpetrated this and found that one of them was arrested at a Florida airport in 2016 for having 65 counterfeit credit cards in another person's name in his carry-on luggage. In the Apple crime, he was sentenced to five years in prison. The other man has a common name and could not determine if he has a criminal history. He was sentenced to three years and one month.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rpmurray Avatar
46 months ago
So they get to keep $240,000?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tyranne201 Avatar
46 months ago
USA judicial system is quite bizarre. 13 years is basically a sentence for killing someone in most countries. I'm impressed how people spend time in jail for nonsense things. No wonder it has the most jailed people in the world. The fact they already are paying fines and restitution should give them no more than 5 years in jail. This is kinda broken.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
usagora Avatar
46 months ago

Jail? Not prison?
While tecnically different, people use the terms interchangeably. I don't think anyone's confused by it ?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)