LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- St. Matthews Police arrested four men over the weekend, all accused of running what police call an organized criminal ring.
On Saturday, Oct. 19, St. Matthews Police were sent to the Kroger at 291 N. Hubbards Lane after a loss prevention employee saw two men place altered gift cards back on the rack.
All four men are facing several felony charges for forging gift cards and stealing the money when they are activated. (Photos courtesy of LMDC)
The four men — Huixing Yu, 42, of New York, Tianlong Chen, 35, of New York; Lin Chaoming, 40, of California, and Zhiqiang Huang, 47, of California — are all facing several felony charges including criminal possession of a forged instrument and engaging in organized crime.
According to police, the four men would open the gift card packaging, write down the numbers and steal the money off the cards when they were activated.
St. Matthews Police said they recovered thousands of altered gift cards from various retailers, resulting in millions of dollars stolen.Â
"We have had this in the past,"Â St. Matthews Police Chief Barry Wilkerson said. "This is the third or fourth time we have had this in St. Matthews. They (gift cards) are already loaded into their system, so when you buy a card, put money on it, that money automatically goes into their account."
This is almost exactly what happened to Sean Phillips. He was given a $200 Home Depot gift card as a wedding present. The card was purchased at the Kroger on Dixie Highway.
"We were very excited," Phillips said. "We just bought a new fixer upper house, so it was something that was going to be put to good use."
Phillips took the card to Home Depot still in the package as he opened it in front of a sales clerk.
"Pull the card out and scratch off a number, when I typed in the number into the machine, and it registered and it kinda came back and said I had this balance and I called over an associate and she watched me open it in the store and it was like there is three cents on this thing," Phillips said.
He was told by a manager at Home Depot his gift card number had been used at seven different Home Depot locations.
St. Matthews Police believe the four men took the money seconds after a card is purchased.
"We know they are traveling the country doing this," Wilkerson said. "That is why we passed along this information to our federal partners in this case. They say millions, but I say it is a lot more far reaching than that."
Police said check your gift cards, and if possible, buy cards that are kept behind a counter.
Phillips is in the process of getting the card balance returned to its intended amount.
All four men involved in the St. Matthews gift card ring were in court on Monday. The judge declined to set a bond amount, saying they are a flight risk.
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