North Carolina Business Owners Charged With Shipping Stolen iPhones Internationally
Hamzeh Jamal Alasfar and Tayseer Issam Alkhayyat, two business owners in Charlotte, North Carolina, were indicted for allegedly selling fraudulently obtained Apple iPhones and other electronic devices to buyers in the U.S. and across the globe, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina announced. The charges, which include conspiracy to transport stolen and fraudulently obtained goods in interstate commerce and two counts of interstate and foreign transportation of stolen property, carry maximum sentences of five and 10 years in prison, respectively. All charges carry a maximum $250,000 fine per count as well.
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According to the indictment, Alasfar and Alkhayyat owned various businesses in Charlotte, including Cellport International Inc. and D Town Wireless. From 2013 to 2020, the pair allegedly bought thousands of stolen phones and other devices that were then sold to buyers at home and abroad. In particular, Alasfar and Alkhayyat sold and shipped over 20,000 new iPhones between January 2019 and January 2020, receiving over $15 million in wire transfers from new iPhone buyers and freight forwarding services located abroad, including in the United Arab Emirates, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.