Two men from Monterey Park, CA, are in custody at the Bucks County Correctional Facility after they allegedly ran a gift card draining scam at multiple Giant locations.
According to court documents, the arrests were made on Dec. 2 when police in West Goshen Township stopped a vehicle that had been linked to a pair of suspects who had allegedly targeted multiple locations in Bucks County for their scam. The occupants of the vehicle, identified as 28-year-old Jian He and 35-year-old Min He, were both taken into custody.
The suspects were partially identified via a green "Grinch” hat that was observed in the vehicle, which matched the hat one of the suspects was observed wearing on in-store surveillance video.
Investigators allege that both men were observed entering Giant locations in New Britain Borough, New Britain Township, and Plumstead Township over the last 10 days, where they would replace gift cards for sale with compromised cards. In between the New Britain Borough and New Britain Township incidents, police said they recovered 149 compromised gift cards, with additional cards being recovered at the Plumstead Township location.
The scam, described as "card draining,” involves neatly opening gift cards, recording the gift card number and pin code, then returning the card to the rack. Once an unsuspecting victim activates and adds money to the card, the scammers can then drain the funds and use them however they wish, police said.
The two men are facing three separate sets of charges, including multiple counts of attempted access device fraud, attempted theft by deception, conspiracy, and related offenses. Both men are being held on $50,000 cash bail, while awaiting their preliminary hearing in each case.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
See also:
Sellersville Man Accused of Stealing More Than $1,000 in Groceries from Hilltown Giant
Hilltown Woman Accused of Pistol-Whipping Neighbor Following Argument Over Dog Poop
Man Arrested for Stealing Nearly $300 Worth of Energy Drinks, Other Merch from Redner’s, Police Say
Hatfield Man Accused of Stealing from 7-Eleven on North Broad Street
