7,000 stolen gift cards found as Sacramento sheriff retail theft team arrests four men
Investigators arrested four people and found more than 7,000 tampered gift cards in an alleged scheme that targeted stores in several Northern California counties, along with stores in Nevada, Oregon and Washington.
Jian Chen, 45; Qiang Xue, 35; Chunliang Fang, 38; and Xuewei Yu, 36, were arrested Nov. 14 in the alleged gift card scheme, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday in social media posts.
The four accused men remained in custody Wednesday at the Sacramento County jail. They each have been charged with criminal conspiracy; acquiring a gift card with the intent to unlawfully use, sell or transfer it; organized retail theft, and buying or receiving stolen property, jail and court records show.
The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office on Nov. 18 filed a criminal case against the four men. The defendants appeared for their arraignment hearing last week in Sacramento Superior Court.
Sheriff’s officials said the four arrested men are originally from China and traveled to Central America before illegally entering the United States through the southern border with Mexico within the past 18 months.
The four men are accused of taking gift cards from more than 100 stores in several Northern California counties, along with stores in Nevada, Oregon and Washington, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff’s officials said the suspects predominantly targeted grocery stores and hardware stores, where gift cards were openly displayed.
The investigation led the task force to a hotel room converted into a gift card tampering and shipping facility, where investigators confiscated more than 7,000 tampered gift cards, sheriff’s officials said. Investigators also impounded two vehicles.
The gift card tampering investigation was conducted by the sheriff’s Organized Retail Crimes Task Force, in conjunction with the Elk Grove Police Department, the District Attorney’s Office and U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The bail amount schedule for the charges they face would normally total $500,000, but jail records show the court has deemed the four arrested men ineligible for bail, because authorities say there’s reason to believe any money or collateral used for bail would be obtained through criminal activity.
They are scheduled to return to court Monday for further proceedings in their criminal case.
