Owner of iPhoneNow.ca scam site convicted and jailed on unrelated charges

Posted by james on October 29th, 2008 at 10:47pm Comments

A while back we’ve reported on an appalling fraud scheme that targeted hundreds of Canadians who were looking to purchase an iPhone before it officially came out in Canada, perpetrated by one man.

The man’s name is Scott Frederick Byers, also known as Joshua Trousdale, and he was operating the now defunct site iPhoneNow.ca. Mr Byers, a seasoned scammer who was convicted several years ago of running a similar scam that targeted would-be PS2 buyers (who obviously have never received the goods they paid for), was taking orders and money for iPhones without ever shipping them.

After the fraud was discovered he promised to reimburse his victims the $390,000 he netted in the process, however almost all of them have never seen even one cent of their money back.

That’s why it’s nice to read that Vancouver Sun reports that this fraudster was jailed due to an unrelated offense in Vancouver — this time around he “simply” used forged documents and obstructed justice. While he obviously tried to say he’s not guilty, he’s currently awaiting trial in a BC jail. At the same time the investigation regarding the iPhoneNow.ca fraud charges is still ongoing.

And here a question to our Canadian readers: do you maybe think our anti-fraud laws are not what they’re supposed to be? It’s rather weird that someone accused of repeat fraud was free to commit more crime until the latest charges were brought up.

Related posts:

1. iPhone Scams: Woman out $3000 in Canadian Online iPhone Scam
2. Apple iPhone SCAMS alert: eBay “unlocked” iPhone scam, iPhone online stores scam
3. Roaming iPhone charges are expensive, Wired magazine editor discovers
4. Vancouver Apple Store grand opening photos
5. iPhone scammers going strong

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Filed Under: News+ iPhone Canada+ iPhone Scams

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