Mich. Man Pleads Guilty To Defrauding Apple In Refund Scheme: DOJ

SAN JOSE, CA — A Michigan man pleaded guilty in federal court in San Jose Monday to a fraud scheme that bilked Cupertino-based Apple out of $1 million, the Department of Justice reported.

U.S. Attorney David Anderson said Van-Seyla Mork, 25, of Kalamazoo, made the plea to wire fraud and money laundering in which he initiated fraudulent complaints to Apple’s customer service department.

Each complaint made on behalf of Apple customers claimed purchased Apple products had not arrived as expected, said Anderson, with assistance from Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett. He offered an Apple refund service. Instead, Mork told the computer giant that only an empty box had been mailed to the Apple customer’s mailing address. The defendant further admitted that at the time he submitted these complaints, he knew these assertions were false.

Consequently, Apple ended up issuing $1 million in refunds for undelivered Apple products that had been delivered. Moreover, Mork admitted that he transferred the proceeds of this fraudulent scheme through various bank accounts with the intent of concealing the nature and location of these wire-fraud proceeds.

Mork was charged last November with conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering. Through the plea deal, the number of counts were reduced.

He was released on bond. Bail was set at $50,000.

The sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 21.