PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Two men are accused of purchasing iPads from Target and then returning counterfeit devices to stores across Pinellas County to receive refunds for the devices they kept, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
Zain Ashref Ziada, 24, and Mohammad Said, 28, allegedly purchased multiple iPad Pro 11″ devices with cash on Thursday from Target on Ulmerton Road, according to deputies, who said the two men went back to the store the next day to return one of the iPads.
The problem, deputies said, was that the iPad in the box was fake — engraved with a serial number that was crooked. The iPad also had a non-working charging port and an Apple sticker for the logo.
The men received a gift card for $962.99, which is the price of the iPad plus sales tax, according to deputies. Several other iPads were returned for cash.
The two men allegedly repeated the act at several stores across Pinellas County, deputies said. The iPads that were returned were repackaged with seals and shrink-wrap.
Ziada and Said are from the Chicago area and were in a hotel room on Gulf Boulevard in the Treasure Island area, deputies said. Both men were scheduled to fly back on Dec. 13. The alleged crimes were committed in a vehicle that was rented from Tampa International Airport from Dec. 6 to Dec. 13.
Deputies searched the hotel room and found 17 iPad 11 Pro models with 256 GB of storage, four Target bags with gift receipts and iPad boxes with fake iPads, four Target gift cards, 20 Target receipts, 31 adhesive box sealers, 50 protective iPad sheets, a laser engraver, two boxes containing 34 counterfeit iPads, a few other electronic devices, nearly $5,000 and drugs.
The two men are charged with grand theft, a scheme to defraud, and offenses involving forging or counterfeiting private labels.