New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is investigating multiple claims that Apple Store employees targeted Asian customers as posing a higher risk of iPad exporting.
Cuomo, who is also presumed to be the shoo-in for the state’s upcoming gubernatorial election, received tips from a Queens Assemblywoman who represents a largely Chinese-American district, according to a report from Politico.
She received complaints from Asian constituents who said that when they went into an Apple Store to buy an iPad, store employees asked them suspicious questions.
“Our Office received complaints over the treatment of certain individuals of Asian descent at two Apple stores in New York City,” said a Cuomo spokesperson in an e-mail to Politico.
The issues reportedly had to do with the retailer’s policy limiting iPad purchases, and avoiding the potential of selling the device to anyone who had the intent of shipping it overseas where units are not officially available and are selling for huge premiums on the black market.
