Four Chinese nationals have been sentenced for an identity theft scheme geared toward defrauding retailers out of more than $1.2 million.
The scheme included the theft of the personal information of hundreds of Americans, which was then used to forge driver’s licenses and other IDs to create credit accounts at a series of national retailers, a press release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported.
The retailers targeted for the fraud included Ulta Beauty, Sephora, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Williams-Sonoma, Dillard’s and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Those convicted include Kar Kee “Steven” Cheung, 36, Qian Guo, 37, Chongming “Ming” Wang, 28, and Jiaozhu “Yanny” Yan, 30. They were convicted on charges including credit card fraud, manufacturing false identification, fraud, device fraud and other crimes and were sentenced to from 42 months, and 12 months in prison.
Two other suspects were also convicted in the scheme. Sizhen “Rachel” Liu, 35, had previously been sentenced to up to 50 months in federal prison on similar fraud charges and Hyun Woo “Scott” Jung, 30, will be sentenced on May 5.
In a similar case, a Chinese national Donghui Liao, 32, was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for possession of thousands of unauthorized access devices (gift cards), in a scheme in Florida meant to steal the money loaded onto them by gift card customers.
“Gift card scams endanger retailers, consumers, and overall public safety,” said Homeland Security Investigations Orlando Assistant Special Agent in Charge David Pezzutti in a press release. “HSI is actively collaborating with law enforcement at all levels to combat organized crime involved in these schemes. Our proactive approach aims to raise awareness and disrupt fraud that could cost hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars. This successful prosecution in Florida highlights our commitment to addressing this issue on a global scale.”
The U.S. Secret Service also recently announced a nation-wide investigation into a high-tech scheme perpetrated by migrants called “jackpotting” where hundreds of thousands are stolen from ATMs.
The Secret Service describes “jackpotting” as criminals manipulating ATMs into spitting out cash through “malicious software and/or computer hardware.” Unchecked, machines could potentially drain dry with a loss totaling in the thousands.
“The machine will just continue to dispense until it’s drained. It could be 97 dispenses, it could be 70,” said Laura Ward, chief risk officer for Firstmark Credit Union, told KSAT.
“These days we see all kinds of crimes, but this is a particularly different kind,’ Ward added. “The ATMs are really being preyed upon. We call it an attack because it is an attack.”
Federal and local investigators have also prosecuted several groups of migrants engaged in organized theft rings, many aimed at professional athletes.
In one case, a group of Chilean nationals were charged in connection with the multimillion-dollar thefts from the homes of professional athletes, including Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, and Travis Kelce.
In another case, police in Denver said that a “South American theft gang” was involved in a $12 million jewelry heist.
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