Guy scammed Apple out of 9,000 iPod shuffle players

Prosecutors filed fraud and money laundering charges against Nicholas Woodhams, 23, of the Kalamazoo, Mich., area, for stealing more than 9,000 replacement Apple iPod shuffles.

Woodhams acquired thousands of iPod shuffle players by guessing valid serial numbers and entering them into Apple's website to get a "replacement" unit. Apple would normally charge Woodhams' credit card if they didn't receive a defective shuffle in return, but the guy used prepaid credit cards that rejected the transaction. According to the court documents, Woodhams sold thousands of his illegally acquired iPod shuffle players for $49 each.

Woodhams knew that iPod owners could get a replacement if a Shuffle had problems, the government said. "Through trial and error, the defendant determined that he could guess valid, warrantied serial numbers and enter them into Apple's Web site for 'replacement' units without ever in fact purchasing or possessing the 'original' units," Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler wrote.