Apple today responded to reports of fraud in its iTunes store by publicly exiling developer Thuat Nguyen and removing his apps from iTunes altogether. Nguyen apparently managed to snag more than 40 of the top 50 sales positions in the App Store’s book genre despite the fact that his titles — which were seemingly priced at $5 — were worthless. But Apple failed to directly address whether fraud had occurred, opting instead to check with their banks and monitor credit card statements to make sure they weren’t victimized. Which is a pretty shoddy way of treating the customers Apple claims to be protecting with its strict walled-garden strategy.