HARRISBURG, PA — A Montgomery County man is facing a series of felony charges after allegedly orchestrating a complex fraudulent return scheme that resulted in the theft of computer hard drives valued at $250,000 from Seagate Technology, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced Wednesday.
Kwan Woo Lee, 29, of Wyncote, was arrested and charged with corrupt organizations, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, access device fraud, and related offenses following an investigation by the Office of Attorney General’s Financial Crimes Section.
According to investigators, Lee executed the scheme over the course of more than a year. Authorities allege that Lee purchased hard drives from Seagate, then claimed the devices were defective and requested replacements under the company’s warranty program, which requires customers to return faulty items. However, instead of returning the original and fully functional devices, Lee allegedly sold them on the secondary market for profit.
Attorney General Sunday emphasized the deliberate nature of the operation, stating, “This defendant took advantage of a company’s warranty program to intentionally defraud the company and make money — that is theft. Thanks to the hard work of my Financial Crimes Section, we were able to stop this defendant from continuing on with this scheme.”
Investigators revealed that Lee used prepaid credit cards to circumvent Seagate’s policy of charging customers who fail to return defective products. In total, Lee is accused of obtaining more than 400 hard drives, which were shipped to 18 different addresses across Montgomery and Butler counties. The scheme involved 30 separate fraudulent returns, all facilitated through prepaid cards.
Agents were ultimately able to trace the email addresses and phone numbers used in the fraudulent warranty claims back to Lee, leading to his arrest.
Lee was arraigned on Wednesday afternoon, with bail set at $50,000. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 10.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Noelle Wilkinson of the Financial Crimes Section.
All charges are allegations, and Kwan Woo Lee is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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