A man from China pled guilty and was sentenced in a Lawrence County court room after he was caught in an Apple gift card scam across Western Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Attorney Generals office announced that 20-year-old Zhixian Chen has been sentenced to 1.5-to-3-years in prison, must pay a $25,000 fine, forfeit $16,000 worth of equipment, and is banned from Walmart for life.
Surveillance footage revealed that Chen stole many Apple gift cards from at least six Wal-Mart stores in western Pennsylvania. He then altered the cards to redirect the funds to himself before putting them back on store shelves. Customers who then purchased the altered cards would have the balance drained and, in the end, were left with value-less cards.
In some cases, Chen left the stores with the cards. In May 2024, Chen was caught trying to leave a Wal-Mart with 126 gift cards hidden inside his jacket. Authorities later found nearly 4,000 more Apple gift cards, potentially worth nearly $1 million, in his car, along with cash and equipment used to alter the cards.
Chen is also facing potential deportation for these acts.