Scammer shuffles Apple out of 9,000 iPods

For whatever reason, Apple's iPod ends up in the middle of quite a few crimes. The latest story, however, is even more extreme than usual. Nicholas Arthur Woodhams, a 23 year old from Kalamazoo, Michigan, was recently slapped upside the gord with federal charges of fraud and money laundering after he managed to con Apple into shipping him around 9,000 iPod shuffles. As the story goes, he managed to somehow correctly guess thousands of valid shuffle serial numbers and have replacements shipped to him; once they arrived, he sold them for less than MSRP to excited buyers, all while giving Apple a prepaid VISA number that would reject the charges after he failed to send back the nonexistent "original" shuffle. It's rather amazing to us that he was able to pull this off for so long without being noticed, but even if it works for awhile, we've learned yet again that crime doesn't pay. In fact, the feds have already seized a half million bucks from one brokerage account, some real estate and a trio of vehicles. Tragic, yeah?

[Via Macworld, thanks Steve]

[iGoon#2 @ Mar 20th 2009 10:48PM]

A B C D E F G H "i" got an iPod in Kalamazoo!
Don’t want to boast but I know its the toast of Kalamazoo
(Zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo)

[Ellianth @ Mar 22nd 2009 4:10AM]

You'd think they'd have wised up after the first 8000 or so. :P

[plyx @ Mar 22nd 2009 4:23AM]

Your comment is strange to me. I'm just a simple caveman.

[Seightan @ Mar 22nd 2009 5:16AM]

LOL apple got pwnt!

And crime DOES pay, you just don't hear about it

[ohforfucksake @ Mar 22nd 2009 5:38AM]

it seems like i've seen 9000 apple stories on engadget lately!

[Samboini @ Mar 22nd 2009 5:39AM]

Over 9000?!

[Xblackragex @ Mar 22nd 2009 8:02AM]

Primus FTW!! Great, now that song is stuck in my head.

[neal.lucas @ Mar 22nd 2009 11:29AM]

at least apple doesnt have to worry about the new shuffle being stolen.

no one in there right mind would want one.

[Templarian @ Mar 22nd 2009 12:01PM]

If he goes to Western Michigan University, I think I've seen that guy before on campus.

[ImaYam @ Mar 22nd 2009 12:14PM]

Of course they wouldntve caught it! THey cant count past the amount on the fingers since their lack of numerical pads.

[BigD145 @ Mar 22nd 2009 1:54PM]

You'd think the guy would have gotten an offshore account, like all the bank execs.

[sk8ordie @ Mar 22nd 2009 1:54PM]

@neal.lucas

"at least apple doesnt have to worry about the new shuffle being stolen.

no one in there right mind would want one."

That is why I carry my shuffle when I am out of home. :)

[llxDylanxll @ Mar 23rd 2009 5:02AM]

Anyone else baffled as to how the original post was submitted two days before the article was published. o.0

"iGoon#2 @ Mar 20th 2009 10:48PM"

[derpengy @ Mar 23rd 2009 7:00AM]

"I'VE GOT A GAL IN KALAMAZOO
(Mack Gordon / Harry Warren)

Glenn Miller - 1942

Also recorded by: The Andrews Sisters; Lous Armstrong; BBC Big Band;
Tex Beneke; Big Band; Boston Pops Orch.; Tony Orchestra Burgos;
Chas & Dave; The Clark Sisters; Xavier Cugat; Graham Dalby;
DMP Big Band; Tommy Dorsey & His Orch.; Billy Eckstine;
Benny Goodman & His Orch.; Ondrej Havelka; Dick Haymes; Ted Heath;
Hollywood All Stars; Marion Hutton; Johnny Keating; The King Sisters;
Steve Lawrence; Art Lund; Garrett Miller; ..... and many others.


(lengthy instrumental interlude)

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H
I got a gal in Kalamazoo
Don’t want to boast but I know she’s the toast of Kalamazoo
(Zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo)"

http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/i/ivegotagalinkalamazoo.shtml

[murphy @ Mar 22nd 2009 3:42AM]

ok, but whats with the Juicy Fruit? that shit is nasty anyways

[gdxk @ Mar 30th 2009 10:01AM]

if he had anything to do with that string of terribly bad / funny guitar smashing commercials, then he's gonna get what's coming to him

[oliver hart @ Mar 22nd 2009 5:17AM]

juicy fruit has a chip inside the gum that makes it taste horrible.

[weg @ Mar 22nd 2009 6:23AM]

Only because you're not "made for Juicy Fruit".

[LiQuiD_FuSioN @ Mar 22nd 2009 12:28PM]

What kind of shitty taste buds you got? JF is fuckin' good as hell.

This reminds me of "Juicy" by B.I.G now, lol.

[o rly @ Mar 22nd 2009 12:39PM]

Which samples Mtume - Juicy Fruit from 1983...

[eggothewaffle @ Mar 22nd 2009 3:44AM]

god damn the mid west is so goofy

[zfurie @ Mar 22nd 2009 3:44AM]

His punishment would be to listen to Ballmer's speeches for 9,000 hours straight.

[Justin @ Mar 22nd 2009 3:59AM]

Haha oh god I'd kill ballmer then myself

[FAnchax @ Mar 22nd 2009 2:12PM]

DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS YAAA!

[wjousts @ Mar 23rd 2009 8:59AM]

Or be forced to use a Zune

[CJ @ Mar 22nd 2009 3:48AM]

Ha ha ha.

Some people get all the luck, until they're caught out.

[fulltext @ Mar 22nd 2009 3:51AM]

What's most amazing to me is that he had any money left in his brokerage account!

[brum9 @ Mar 22nd 2009 3:52AM]

Mmm all the glorious proprietary headphones one could ask for.

[DR House @ Mar 22nd 2009 4:00AM]

More Gimme MORE Apple news Engadget, whats wrong with your lack of apple news lately

[ohforfucksake @ Mar 22nd 2009 5:34AM]

why does Engadget never report on Apple stuff? totally starved of Apple news

[Ahmedz @ Mar 22nd 2009 4:02AM]

WHAT, 9,000?!?

[Nick J @ Mar 22nd 2009 4:08AM]

OVER 9,000!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!

[Dave Chappelle @ Mar 22nd 2009 4:09AM]

DAMNIT NICK u seriously beat me by like 20 secs.

[loci @ Mar 22nd 2009 8:21AM]

"DAMNIT NICK u seriously beat me by like 20 secs."

ooo damit nick, chase me, ive got some toffee's

[Kizul Emeraldfire @ Mar 22nd 2009 10:43PM]

THERE'S NO WAY THAT CAN BE RIGHT, CAN IT??!

[plyx @ Mar 22nd 2009 4:05AM]

I did the math, how could 9,000 shuffles at a marked down from MSRP turn into $500,000 in a brokerage account, some real estate and a trio of vehicles?

[RijilV @ Mar 22nd 2009 4:08AM]

math is never the strong suit of those filing suit.

[Dave Chappelle @ Mar 22nd 2009 4:09AM]

lawl i just thought the same thing, he must have been doing some other dodgy shit then...

Sony just called they want to talk to this bastard about their Q4 loss.

[coolant8 @ Mar 22nd 2009 10:21AM]

Lets see:

MSRP of 1 Ipod shuffle=$79?
Marked down $20 off each: $79-$20=$59
9000x$59=$531,000

$531,000
=500,000+ stuff?

[coolant8 @ Mar 22nd 2009 10:28AM]

Beside, 9000 units could rounded up by, taking anything between 8500-9499 actual units.

[Cal @ Mar 22nd 2009 11:04AM]

@coolant

3 vehicles AND real estate for 30 grand? then it would have to be land in the middle of nowhere and some pretty shitty cars lol

[TavisJohn @ Mar 22nd 2009 12:28PM]

Who said it was all paid off. 30,000 could get you 3 cars and a house...

And some monthly payments.

[Jim Robert @ Mar 24th 2009 9:07AM]

@cal well it IS Kalamazoo Michigan...

[CL @ Mar 22nd 2009 4:08AM]

Over 9000!!!!!!!!

[MeisterDon @ Mar 23rd 2009 7:50AM]

Lol, I feel sorry for CL. The first few were high ranked, and I guess you had the bad luck of the joke getting old haha.

[Jimmy Jones @ Mar 22nd 2009 4:09AM]

Tragic? No This is pure magic and genius! He seems to enjoy doing biz with anything that has a fruit logo on it...preferably the apple kinds... :D

[bernardino @ Mar 22nd 2009 4:11AM]

If he survives this, the kid will grow up to be a Wallstreet banker.

[linderman @ Mar 22nd 2009 5:04AM]

Wall Street Banker nothing...try our next president...at the very least, he should run for congress.

[007craft @ Mar 22nd 2009 5:31AM]

grow up? hes 23 lol. he already grown.

[Steveorevo @ Mar 22nd 2009 5:34AM]

Because there are no shortages of dumbs$$e$ to vote fir him, much less suggest it or condone stealing.... Lazy ass should rot in jail...