A New Yorker is arrested in California for iPhone thefts, Russian hackers targeted iPhones, and AirTag inspires a car-crash viral video, all in this week's Apple Crime Blotter.

The latest in an occasional AppleInsider series, looking at the world of Apple-related crime.

Chinese national gets two years in counterfeit Apple product exchange scheme

A Chinese national living in the San Gabriel Valley was sentenced for his part in what Pasadena Now called a "counterfeit iPhone and iPad exchange scheme."

The 28-year-old Zhengxuan Hu was one of six people who pled guilty in September of 2025 to what the government described at the time as "a large-scale, trans-Pacific scheme to defraud Apple Inc. through the fraudulent returns of thousands of counterfeit iPhones, iPads, and other Apple goods."

Per Patch, Hu was sentenced to two years in prison, and ordered to pay his share of restitution.

The scheme, the government said at the time, cost Apple $16.2 million.

Hu had pled guilty to one federal count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud. The conspirators, per Pasadena Now, visited several Apple Stores throughout Southern California.

New Yorker arrested in California Apple Store thefts

Also in California, an 18-year-old from New York was arrested in Orange County on March 18 and charged with stealing several iPhones from Apple Stores.

According to the Irvine Police Department, which is fond of Apple puns in their solution media posts, "an Apple a day keeps the doctor away. Seven stolen iPhones in a backpack get you in handcuffs."

The accused thief was first caught stealing two display iPhones from the Irvine Spectrum Apple Store. A subsequent search found seven more iPhones, which the department said had been "taken from Apple Stores across Southern California.

The man was charged with burglary, grand theft, and receiving stolen property.

Russian hackers targeted iPhone users in Ukraine

A group of hackers suspected of ties to the Russian government has targeted iPhone users in Ukraine using Darksword, the new hacking toolkit that Apple released a new patch to contain.

According to TechCrunch, the hackers from a group called UNC6353 "targeted iPhone users in Ukraine with a new set of hacking tools designed to steal their personal data, as well as potentially steal cryptocurrency."

TechCrunch cited researchers from Google Research and security firms iVerify and Lookout.

Car theft, tracked by AirTag, leads to viral video, charges in Milwaukee

A Milwaukee woman who drives for Instacart had her car stolen at a grocery store on March 3, at which point she used an AirTag to track the vehicle.

According to WISN, the woman and her boyfriend tracked the car to a specific intersection. They then confronted the thief, in a shocking confrontation that subsequently went viral on social media.

The two got on either side of the car, which "led to a struggle with the driver, who then hit the gas pedal, causing the car to spin in circles in the middle of the street." The car then struck a Milwaukee County Transit Bus, after which the woman and her boyfriend got the driver out, and he ran off.

During the struggle, the boyfriend reached into the thief's pocket and grabbed an ID card. Police later spoke with a nurse, who had both seen the video and treated the thief, who was wearing the same clothes.

He was charged with first-degree recklessly endangering safety, driving or operating a vehicle without the owner's consent, and bail jumping.

AirPods tracked to recover stolen luggage in Nashville

After a man's luggage was stolen from a hotel in Nashville, he was able to track the missing bag, thanks to a pair of AirPods left in it.

WKRN reports police followed the AirPods signal to a Potbelly Sandwich shop, where a man had asked for help in "resetting" a laptop that had presumably been stolen. Police arrested the man, who was charged with felony theft of property.

Police followed a stolen MacBook to more items

Police in Spokane, Wash., responded to a report from the owner of a MacBook that had been stolen from a car, and the MacBook owner told officers that the MacBook's location was pinging at a specific house.

There, police discovered a distinctive vehicle — "a black Ford Ranger with a couch in the truck bed" — and noted that the same truck with the same couch had been spotted leaving the scene of an earlier burglary.

Once police obtained a search warrant for the property, they discovered $100,000 worth of stolen items, including "tools, toolboxes, bikes, e-bikes, motorcycles, and yard/lawn tools."

The man was arrested and charged with Second Degree Residential Burglary and Second Degree Possession of Stolen Property.

Maryland man stole iPhone from Walmart and ran

A 30-year-old Maryland man has been charged with several crimes after police say he took an iPhone from a Walmart associate outside the store in Prince Frederick and then fled. And while he didn't make it easy for the police, he was ultimately arrested and charged.

According to TheBayNet, the man grabbed the phone and left the scene. After responding, police saw the man walking down a nearby road.

Confronted by police, he produced a phone from one pocket, although investigators "noted a noticeable bulge in his other front pocket consistent with another phone." When police attempted to detain him, he pushed off and ran.

Police caught up and deployed a taser, but even as he was being arrested, the man "continued moving his hands while officers attempted to secure him in handcuffs before he was fully restrained."

He was charged with theft from $100 to under $1,500, obstructing and hindering, and second-degree assault.

Woman who sold stolen iPhone to kiosk takes a plea

An Iowa woman who took an iPhone that was lost in a park and sold it to a kiosk at a Walmart has accepted a plea bargain. KNIA/KRLS reports the 44-year-old woman had been accused of felony theft, but ultimately agreed to serve one year of probation and pay a $430 civil penalty.

First charged with 2nd degree felony theft, the woman pled to a serious misdemeanor charge of aiding and abetting 4th degree theft.

Stolen car, iPhone 16 Pro Max recovered in Ghana as suspect is shot

The Ghana Police Service has recovered a stolen Toyota Hilux pickup truck, along with an iPhone 16 Pro Max, and some documents, all of which were stolen in December.

According to Modern Ghana, the recovery followed an "intelligence-led operation," in which the suspect attempted to attack officers but was shot dead.