CHARLOTTE — Two Charlotte business owners are facing federal charges for allegedly selling stolen and fraudulently obtained Apple iPhones and other electronics both in the U.S. and internationally, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
The indictment says Charlotte residents Hamzeh Jamal Alasfar, 30, and Tayseer Issam Alkhayyat, 34, owned multiple local businesses, including Cellport International Inc. and D Town Wireless, where they purchased thousands of stolen iPhones and electronics as early as 2013 through January 2020.
Alasfar and Alkhayyat allegedly got the electronics from multiple “boosters” and “vendors.” A booster is a person who gets goods and products by stealing and fraud and sells them for profit. A vendor is a person who collects the stolen and fraudulent products from boosters to sell them in bulk.
The indictment says the businesses of the two men were known to boosters and vendors in the Charlotte area as a place they could sell their stolen goods, including new iPhones still in the box.
[ ALSO READ: Man almost lost more than $2,000 after lending cellphone to stranger ]
The men sold and shipped more than 20,000 new iPhones between January 2019 and January 2020 alone through their Cellport business.
The indictment said the two men knew that the iPhones had been stolen or obtained by fraud.
During that time, Cellport’s bank account, controlled by Alasfar and Alkhayyat, allegedly received more than $15 million in wire transfers, many of which came from new iPhone buyers and freight-forwarding services abroad, including a company in the United Arab Emirates.
The two men are charged with conspiracy to transport stolen and fraudulently obtained goods in interstate commerce, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and two counts of interstate and foreign transportation of stolen property, which carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a $250,000 fine per count.
Alasfar and Alkhayyat will be ordered to appear on a summons for their initial appearances in federal court in Charlotte.
The Secret Service and CMPD worked together on the investigation using municipal and federal resources and personnel.
(WATCH BELOW: Father, son found guilty in COVID-19 fraud trial involving east Charlotte restaurant)
This browser does not support the video element.