Nixa woman sentenced for $90M cellphone scheme

A Nixa woman was sentenced in federal court yesterday for selling over $90 million worth of counterfeit cellphone components over the internet and at a Springfield store.

Sherrie Householder, 59, was ordered to spend two years in federal prison without parole and pay $8.9 million in restitution, according to a news release from the office of Tammy Dickinson, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

In May last year, Householder pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and another count of money laundering.

In the scheme, Householder managed and operated Flash Technology LLC, aka Flash Tech, which sold such components as cellphone replacement screens, lithium batteries and phone cases via online retail sites and in Springfield at 2231 W. Sunset St. in the Battlefield Business Center. Householder made over $90 million in sales to hundreds of thousands of customers between December 2012 and January 2016, according to the release.

Householder told customers the phone parts were manufactured by legitimate companies - including Apple, Samsung and Microsoft - and when shipped, each part contained trademarks and markings to make them appear real. The parts were found to be counterfeit.

The Nixa resident operated Flash Tech’s United States’ operations for its Chinese owner, Wang “Frank” Luo. Householder received some 5,000 international shipments from Lou, according to the release.

Court documents indicate Householder knew for at least six months prior to January 2016 that the parts were counterfeit. Between August and December 2015, more than a dozen shipments from China were intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Householder continued to sell the items even after being told they were counterfeit, according to Dickinson’s office.

Federal agents executed search warrants at Householder’s Nixa residence and the Flash Tech store in Springfield, when they seized 100,000 phone and component parts worth $5.5 million, according to the release.

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