Terrorism charges changed to fraud

["Richard M. Smith" <rms () bsf-llc com>]

Wow, changing firmware in a phone is now considered fraud.  The guys being
charged aren't even the folks doing the reprogramming.  Depending on the
details of the reprogramming, there might be a civil case here, but I don't
understand the criminal charges.  I'm disappointed in seeing tax dollars
being spent to protect TracFones business model of selling cellphones below
their costs.
 
Richard
 
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060817/NEWS05/608170379/10
07/NEWS 
 
 Tuscola County prosecutors dropped terrorism charges against three Texas
men who bought hundreds of cell phones, but federal investigators said the
men may have been operating a counterfeiting operation that sent altered
phones overseas. They were charged Wednesday in federal court in Bay City
with two counts related to fraudulent goods and money laundering. 
 
....

FBI Special Agent Andrea Kinzig said in court documents that the men were
buying large numbers of Nokia cell phones that use TracFone cards. Those
types of prepaid phones "are susceptible to fraudulent use if the TracFone
software is removed from those telephones" she said in a criminal complaint
filed Wednesday. "Doing so enables the Nokia telephone to be programmed for
use through any cellular telephone service provider that the user may
choose."

According to the complaint, the three men told investigators that they
planned to sell the cell phones to people in Dallas, who would then sell
them to middlemen in California, New York or Miami. Those men would then
re-program the phones and sell them overseas.

All three men told investigators they traveled the country to buy Nokia 2126
phones, which provide high profit margins, but "were not readily available
in Texas," the complaint said.

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