Man Gets 8 Years For Selling 30,000 iPhones In Verizon Scam
SAN DIEGO (AP) - A Los Angeles man is going to federal prison for a fraud scheme that involved buying 30,000 iPhones from Verizon.
Karen Galstian was sentenced Monday to more than eight years in prison for that scam and an unrelated bank fraud.
Galstian ran a ride-sharing business in Glendale called Toro Ride. Prosecutors say he convinced Verizon to sell him thousands of $500 iPhones for 99 cents each under contract, claiming they'd be used by drivers in his nationally expanding business.
Instead, most of the phones were sold to companies that in turn shipped them overseas to China, Iraq and other countries.
Authorities say Galstian made more than $13 million in profits. He was ordered to pay $17 million in restitution.
He earlier entered guilty pleas to wire and bank fraud.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
