An old town I lived in had a massage parlor that did something similar (and no, this isnt an euphemism - they were a legit massage place).

They sold gift certificates at a sale: You would buy $50 certificate, and then get $25 to use next month. They got a load of people to buy them, cause it's a pretty good deal.

Then within 2 weeks, they closed up shop. The local county prosecutor said that "knowingly selling gift certificates they did not plan on intending to honor was fraud-like, and would be investigated." And, it was more than investigated. They hauled their asses in court, and came to a settlement that all funds were to be returned. Evidently, there was a fraud charge mentioned for each certificate... Make them come to their senses.

Too bad we can't do similar for bigger actors that violate the public trust, or engage in fraudulent behaviors. Cause I see a pretty straight-forward "Knowingly selling hardware that we will remotely kill just outside of the <cough> warranty period" sure seems to smell like fraud.