T-Mobile USA Obtains Injunctions Against Prepaid Phone Traffickers

T-Mobile USA says that it has obtained two final judgments and permanent injunctions as part of the companyÃ's ongoing efforts to combat the bulk purchase and resale of T-Mobile prepaid mobile phones. One judgment was entered against defendant Rafiq Wazir Ali, individually and doing business as Fone Xchange, in a federal lawsuit filed in Houston. The other judgment was entered against ASPAC, its principals and affiliates, by a federal court in Dallas, and awards T-Mobile US$6.5 million in damages in addition to a permanent injunction against the defendants.

Traffickers typically buy, or solicit others to buy, prepaid mobile phones in bulk from retail stores, remove the phones from their original packaging, discard warranties and manuals, hack into the phonesÃ' software, and resell the phones and accessories to unsuspecting customers at a substantial profit.

“T-Mobile is committed to protecting consumers and our company by shutting down these traffickers," said Doug Chartier, vice president, retail partner sales, T-Mobile USA. “We are pleased by the result in these cases, and expect similar successes in our other pending and planned lawsuits."

The stipulated final judgments and permanent injunctions, entered by Judge Lee H. Rosenthal of the Southern District of Texas and Judge Jane J. Boyle of the Northern District of Texas, respectively, permanently prohibit the defendants from engaging in any activities in any way related to the bulk purchase, unlocking or resale of T-Mobile phones and from using the T-Mobile trademark. If the defendants violate the injunctions, the orders provide a mechanism for enforcement by the courts and, in the case of Fone Xchange, carry a minimum charge of US$1 million in damages to be paid to T-Mobile. Muhammad “Mubi" Mubishir, a defendant who violated a similar injunction in Houston federal court, recently pled guilty to criminal contempt of court and is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Melinda Harmon on Oct. 10.

T-Mobile has six additional lawsuits pending in federal courts across the country, as part of its concerted effort to protect consumers from prepaid phone trafficking, and has plans to file additional cases soon.

Posted to the site on 6th August 2008