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Apple manager arrested for alleged $1M in kickbacks

A midlevel Apple manager is being charged with accepting more than $1 million in kickbacks from Asian supply companies.

Jim Dalrymple Special to CNET News
Jim Dalrymple has followed Apple and the Mac industry for the last 15 years, first as part of MacCentral and then in various positions at Macworld. Jim also writes about the professional audio market, examining the best ways to record music using a Macintosh. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. He currently runs The Loop.
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Jim Dalrymple

An Apple manager was arrested Friday for allegedly accepting kickbacks from Asian suppliers, totaling more than $1 million.

Paul Shin Devine worked at Apple as a global supply manager and allegedly used his position to obtain confidential information from the company, according to the San Jose Mercury News. The information was then allegedly sold to the suppliers, helping them negotiate more favorable contracts with Apple.

"Apple is committed to the highest ethical standards in the way we do business," Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said in a statement. "We have zero tolerance for dishonest behavior inside or outside the company."

The companies involved in the kickback scheme were not named in the federal indictment, but it is known that they were suppliers of iPhone and iPod accessories.

Devine allegedly opened foreign bank accounts in his wife's name to disguise payments. It's not known at this time what tipped off the FBI and IRS to the kickback scheme or how deeply Apple was involved in the investigation.

In a separate action, Apple filed a civil suit against Devine for the kickbacks he allegedly received over several years.

Devine will appear in a San Jose court on Monday.