A mid-level Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) Executive has been charged with selling secrets to Asian suppliers for at least $1 million in kickbacks, reported the Wall Street Journal on Sunday.
Apple global supply manager Paul Shin Devine was charged in a federal grand-jury indictment “with offenses that include wire fraud, money laundering and unlawful monetary transactions,” beginning in 2006, the Journal reported online.
“Devine came up with a scheme in which he supplied companies such as Cresyn Co. in South Korea, Kaedar Electronics Co. in China and Jin Li Mould Manufacturing Pte. Ltd. in Singapore with confidential information that would let them negotiate favorable contracts with Apple,” the report said.
Devine “shared part of the money with Mr. Ang, who was an employee of Jin Li, and helped broker deals with Jin Li as well as others, according to the indictment and civil suit,” the report said.
The indictment also accused Andrew Ang, who worked for a supplier of Apple, of wire fraud and conspiracy.
Apple Inc. (Apple) designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication devices, and portable digital music and video players, and sells a variety of related software, services, peripherals, and networking solutions. The Company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, its retail stores, its direct sales force, and third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. In addition, the Company sells a variety of third-party Macintosh (Mac), iPhone and iPod compatible products, including application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, and various other accessories and peripherals through its online and retail stores, and digital content and applications through the iTunes Store. The Company sells to consumer, small and mid-sized business (SMB), education, enterprise, government and creative customers. In December 2009, the Company acquired digital music service Lala.
Shares of AAPL traded down 1.07% on Friday, ending the week at $249.10.
