In a recent legal development, a 31-year-old Los Angeles County man has been sentenced to three years, one month of custody, and $532,542 in restitution for devising a scheme to obtain more money than the actual value of cellular phones. Court documents obtained by SDOC News reveal the intricate details of his plot.
The Deception Unveiled: Unraveling the Scheme
David Shemtov, a Los Angeles resident, crafted a complex plan in October 2019 to fraudulently obtain money and property by misrepresenting the value of phones. The plan involved a privately owned company based in Georgia, specializing in exchanging pre-owned technology for payment or recycling.
The Scam Exposed: False Trade-in Requests
Shemtov is accused of submitting fake trade-in requests to Apple and manipulating online forms with false information. By sending lower-value phones while claiming to trade higher-value models, such as the iPhone XS Max, he managed to receive inflated amounts. He submitted over 1,400 fraudulent requests in one instance, deceiving the system and reaping the benefits.
Shemtov is accused of submitting fake trade-in requests to Apple. He entered false information on the online trade-in request form, which didn't match the actual phone he had. Instead of sending the phone model with a higher trade-in value, he sent a locked and lower-value phone. Shemtov was able to receive a higher amount by doing so.
He submitted over 1,400 fraudulent requests, claiming to be sending higher-value phones like the iPhone XS Max with 64-gigabyte capacity, and instead would send various versions of iPhone 6's that had a trade-in value of $30.
Dodging Detection: Elaborate Measures
Shemtov tried to avoid detection by using different names, email addresses, and post office box locations. The indictment document obtained by SDOC News indicates that on or about December 15, 2019, Shemtov claimed to have had an iPhone XS Max 64GB to trade in. The submission identified the person as Sean Unit578 of S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, with the email address wsale06+sean578@gmail.com.
Justice Served: The Legal Outcome
Following his conviction for wire fraud, Shemtov has been sentenced to 37 months in custody and three years of supervised release. He also faces a $700 assessment, a $100,000 fine, and a hefty restitution amount of $532,542.
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