Costa Mesa woman accused of stealing, selling $732,000 in Apple products

Federal authorities on Friday arrested a Costa Mesa woman who they say stole more than $732,000 worth of Apple products from a family-owned electronics store and sold them at deep discounts online.

Cecilia L. Litonjua-Moore, 44, who worked at L.A. Computer Co. in Anaheim for 10 years, began her scheme in 2011 to pay for personal expenses including a gambling habit, according to the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.

According to a federal grand jury indictment filed Wednesday, Litonjua-Moore took the products from the company’s warehouse and sold them on eBay for 20% to 40% less than what store owners originally paid.

The FBI alleges she then shipped the products to buyers and collected their payments for herself through PayPal or wire transfers.

The fraud wasn’t detected initially because Litonjua-Moore, an executive assistant, had access to the store’s sales, inventory and invoice systems and covered her tracks after each theft, the indictment states.

L.A. Computer Co.’s owner discovered the crime in December 2013, according to prosecutors and the FBI.

Litonjua-Moore faces three counts of wire fraud and could face up to 60 years in federal prison if convicted, federal authorities said.