A former senior manager at Foxconn, one of Apple’s manufacturing partners, allegedly stole 5,700 iPhones and sold them on for than $1.5 million.
AFP is reporting that the Taiwanese man, named only as Tsai, has been indicted over the allegations and faces trial, with a potential 10-year jail sentence if found guilty.
The thefts are alleged to have happened in Shenzen in China, where Foxconn has factories. He allegedly had eight employees smuggle out iPhone 5 and 5s handsets between 2013 and 2014, then selling them on for millions.
The Taiwanese company apparently first noticed the issue after an internal audit, and Tsai was arrested then bailed in 2016.
Foxconn is one of Apple’s key suppliers, helping manufacture iPhones and other products for the Cupertino company â as well as other major tech companies. It has more than 1.3 million employees, and has previously been criticised over working conditions â an issue highlighted by employee suicides.
Apple did not immediately provide Business Insider with a comment.
Article taken from http://uk.businessinsider.com/foxconn-senior-manager-allegedly-stole-5700-iphones-sold-1-5-million-shenzen-china-2016-12
