Woman Admits She Got $200K in iPhones by Faking Insurance Claims

A 39-year-old woman admitted she posed as legitimate customers to obtain more than $200,000 in iPhones over a three-plus year period.

Rosanna Lucrecia Cruel Blanco of the Bronx, New York, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey said.

Blanco and her unnamed co-conspirators put the scheme into play by first assuming the identities of customers to purchase handset insurance on an existing account from a Nashville, Tennessee company, officials said.

Once the insurance was activated Blanco and her associates filed false claims — asserting the phone was either lost, stolen or damaged — and then asked for new phones.