Senior Foxconn manager indicted for allegedly stealing 5700 iPhones

Prosecutors allege that between 2013-2014, a Foxconn manager, surnamed Tsai, stole and sold 5700 iPhone 5 and 5s handsets with the help of 8 factory employees, whom were instructed to smuggle the phones out. The stolen phones were testing units not designed for retail and were supposed to be scrapped after testing. Instead, they were sold in China for a profit of US$1.57 million.

The factory where the iPhones were smuggled from was located in Shenzhen, China. Prosecutors allege that Tsai sold the handsets, designated for scrapping, to local stores in Shenzhen. It is not immediately clear if the stores were official retailers or independent vendors.

The charge of "breach of trust" brought against Tsai carries a maximum punishment of 10 years and 6 months imprisonment. Tsai would not be the first Foxconn employee to be charged with such a crime. In 2014, 5 Foxconn employees were charged with breach of trust after soliciting about US$5 million from companies in exchange for passing quality-control checks, reports AsiaOne.

Taiwanese giant Foxconn is the world's largest contract electronics manufacturing company. Thought they are most well-known for producing Apple's iPhone and iPod, they also manufacture products for Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, and others.

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