Apple is suing its former recycling partner Geep Canada for allegedly reselling Apple products that it was supposed to disassemble.
The company reportedly resold at least 103,845 iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches instead of disassembling them, as first reported by The Logic.
“At least 11,766 pounds of Apple devices left Geep’s premises without being destroyed — a fact that Geep itself confirmed,” Apple’s complaint reads.
The tech giant sent more than 500,000 iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches to Geep between January 2015 and December 2017. Following an audit, Apple learned that 18 percent of those devices were still accessing the internet through cellular networks.
It’s worth noting that the 18 percent figure doesn’t include Apple devices without a cellular radio, which means that it’s possible a higher percentage of devices were resold.
Apple is seeking at least $31 million CAD from Geep, but Geep is denying any wrongdoing on its part. However, the company isn’t denying the possibility of theft, as it filed a third-party suit outlining that three employees stole the devices.
Apple is disagreeing with this claim and arguing that senior management employees at the company were the ones who resold the devices.
The tech giant filed the complaint in January of this year, but has been aware of the thefts once they were discovered between 2017 and 2018. It’s worth noting that Apple hasn’t worked with Geep since.
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