A man has been sentenced to up to three years in prison for a gift card scam targeting Wal-Mart stores in the Pittsburgh area and surrounding counties. Zhixiang Chen, a 20-year-old Chinese national, pleaded guilty to charges of corrupt organizations and organized retail crime. Attorney General Michelle Henry announced the sentence on Friday in Lawrence County Court.
Chen is banned from Wal-Mart stores as part of his 1.5-to-3-year sentence and faces potential deportation proceedings. The court also ordered him to forfeit $16,143, equipment used in the crimes, and pay a $25,000 fine.
Attorney General Henry stated, "This defendant not only committed high-dollar thefts from retail stores, he also victimized consumers who bought the gift cards he had returned to store shelves after altering them for his own profit. After the gift cards were loaded with value by unsuspecting purchasers, the defendant would drain the balances leaving them with worthless cards."
The scheme reportedly allowed Chen and his associates to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars. The investigation was assisted by Frazer Township Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations-Pittsburgh.
Surveillance footage showed Chen stealing Apple gift cards from at least six Wal-Mart locations in western Pennsylvania. He altered these cards to redirect funds before returning them to store shelves. Customers who purchased these altered cards found their balances drained.
In May 2024, Chen was apprehended attempting to leave a Wal-Mart with 126 hidden gift cards inside his jacket. Authorities later discovered nearly 4,000 additional Apple gift cards potentially worth almost $1 million in his car along with cash and equipment used for altering the cards.
Deputy Attorney General Rachel Wheeler and Senior Deputy Attorney General Heather Serrano prosecuted this case.