Spokane, Washington – United States District Judge Rebecca L. Pennell sentenced Zhango Liang, 24, from Fuzhou City, China, to 264 days in federal prison for his involvement in a fraud scheme with counterfeit iPads. Acting United States Attorney Richard R. Barker announced the sentence, which includes three years of supervised release and restitution of $326,000. Liang had previously served 101 days on related charges in Skagit County, Washington.
Court documents reveal that during the summer of 2023, Liang was offered a job by a friend involving the use of gift cards to make purchases at Target stores. Starting in December 2023, Liang began returning counterfeit iPads as part of the scheme. He would buy authentic iPads from Target stores, replace them with counterfeit ones, and return them for refunds on Target gift cards. Between January and June 2024, Liang returned at least 140 iPads and received approximately $163,000 in refunds. The total loss to Target amounted to about $326,000.
“Mr. Liang participated in a calculated scheme that exploited retail return systems for substantial personal gain,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard R. Barker. “This type of fraud undermines the integrity of commerce and ultimately affects everyday consumers by raising prices for everyone.”
Matthew Murphy, ICE Homeland Security Investigations Seattle Acting Special Agent in Charge stated: “Today’s sentencing delivers a message: individuals who engage in sophisticated fraud schemes will be aggressively pursued and held accountable.”
Liang's co-defendant Linda You has pleaded guilty to a fraud charge and is scheduled for sentencing on June 23, 2025.
The case was referred for federal investigation by the Washington Attorney General’s Office Organized Retail Crime Task Force and the Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy J. Kelley.