Courts (Credit: MediaNews Group)
Investigators said mobile-wallet “tokenized” purchases tied New York defendant to stolen credit card numbers
All 45 charges lodged against a New York man for what investigators described as a multi-county credit card fraud operation targeting Wegmans and Home Depot stores across southeastern Pennsylvania were held over for trial following a preliminary hearing Wednesday.
Zhenying Wu, 40, of the 100 block of Madison Street, NY, is charged with two felony counts of forgery and respective conspiracy charges each, felony identity theft and conspiracy to commit identity theft, felony criminal use of a communications device, felony dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity, felony running a corrupt organization and an associated conspiracy charge, 16 misdemeanor counts of access device fraud, and respective conspiracy charges each, and misdemeanor theft and conspiracy to commit theft, according to court records.
According to the criminal complaint, detectives began reviewing suspicious activity in early January after Wegmans reported that groups of “Chinese actors” were visiting multiple stores in Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware and Chester counties on the same day, repeatedly buying $125 gift cards using stolen credit-card data.
Police said the purchases were made through a digital mobile-wallet system that mimicked Apple Pay and used one-time tokenized numbers to disguise the underlying card information.
Investigators alleged that Wu was among those involved. Police said Wu used stolen JP Morgan Chase credit-card numbers to attempt gift-card purchases at Wegmans stores on May 2 and May 3, then made additional purchases at the Montgomery Township Home Depot on May 28.
Officers stopped Wu after observing him enter the Home Depot lot in a gray Nissan Altima bearing a New Jersey registration. A search of the vehicle uncovered multiple Apple and Macy’s gift cards, as well as receipts from Dick’s Sporting Goods connected to similar activity, according to the affidavit.
JP Morgan Chase confirmed fraud on all affected accounts, the complaint states.
Police have charged Wu with multiple felonies, including forgery, identity theft, access-device fraud, criminal use of a communication facility, and corrupt organizations offenses tied to alleged racketeering activity.
Detectives said at least 20 suspects have been involved in similar fraudulent gift-card purchases in Montgomery Township, with additional suspects still being identified.
Wu is free on $5,000 cash bail. Formal arraignment is set for Jan. 21.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
