Concord Police, HSI Bust Multi-Million Dollar Gift Card Scam Operation

2 New Yorkers and a Nashua man arrested after a multi-month investigation; cops, feds seize millions of dollars worth of electronic devices.

CONCORD, NH — Concord police officers and detectives have arrested three theft suspects who may be part of a multi-million-dollar gift card scam crime ring, according to police.

Beginning during the holiday season last year, Concord police were made aware of a “complex system of scammers” who worked together, using technology, to scam stores and outlets of funds. The scam involves stealing hundreds or even thousands of inactivated gift cards, recording the card number, PIN number, and other information, repacking or restoring the gift cards, returning them to the store, and placing them back on the shelves. A customer then goes to the store, selects a card, adds the funds at checkout, and leaves. The criminals then constantly monitor all the gift card numbers. Once the balance is added to a card, the information is given “to a different group of suspects,” who purchase electronics or other expensive items. The electronics and other items like Apple iPads, iPhones, and computers were purchased by another group of suspects and then resold.

The suspects who purchased the electronics were paid a small sum per item. Target and Walmart were two of the primary targets of the thieves, with the suspects using as many as a dozen or more cards in a single transaction, the report stated. However, the detective wrote unsuspecting victims purchased the cards nationwide.

“Many of the gift card numbers used by the suspects were already reported lost or stolen to police departments or Walmart,” the detective said.

upper left: Mingdong Chen, lower left: Mengying Jiang, right: Naxin Wu were hold on $500,000 cash bail (Concord Police Dept)

The criminals, “mainly perpetrated by individuals of Asian descent,” according to investigators, often do not know each other but communicate, instead, through mobile applications, a detective wrote in several affidavits. They reside in California and New York. According to police, there was an uptick in these crimes in Concord during the 2023 holiday shopping season.

“Since the onset of this investigation,” the detective wrote, “millions of dollars worth of electronic devices have been seized by the Concord Police Department and HSI at various storage and shipping locations in New Hampshire operated by the involved suspects.”

An Arrest In December 2023

On Dec. 28, 2023, police received a report from a Hoover, Alabama, man who told police a gift card he purchased in that state had been used at the Concord Walmart store, but it was not him.

Detectives worked with the loss prevention employee at the store to track down a suspect vehicle — a Mercedes sedan with a New York plate. The man was described as a younger-looking Asian man, an affidavit stated. The loss prevention employee said the suspect was involved in “several other thefts” at the store using stolen cards and purchasing high-end electronics, a report stated.

Walmart had the name of MingDong Chen in its files and a detective ran the registration and found the car belonged to MingDong Chen, 28, of 8th Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, an affidavit said. The surveillance video at the store also matched his driver’s license photo, the detective wrote.

Officers were given an intelligence briefing about the case to be on the lookout for the vehicle or the suspect. The next day, an officer on foot patrol in the parking lot of Walmart spotted the vehicle and said the suspect was driving the vehicle, according to a report. Officers stopped the vehicle and the detective headed to the store while also informing the officers to ensure Chen was not able to alter his cellphone in any way, the report said.

“I was concerned that evidence could be altered or destroyed if he was able to manipulate the phone,” the detective wrote.

When the detective arrived, he checked Chen’s license to confirm it was him and saw iPads in a Target bag in the back seat of the vehicle, the report stated. The affidavit said Chen’s cell and vehicle were seized while a search warrant could be requested.

The detective accused Chen of agreeing to come to headquarters to speak to him about the case, and a Mandarin phone interpreter was lined up for the interview. Chen, who moved from China about eight years ago, said he came to the state about five times and had purchased iPads with gift cards for his boss, the report said. He slept in his car when he was here, the detective wrote. When asked about his boss, Chen said he did not know and only communicated with him via WeChat, the affidavit said.

Chen was accused of confirming this was his only job and purchased iPads, ear pods, Apple Watches, and printer ink — noting it was cheaper to drive up to New Hampshire to purchase the items due to the state having no sales tax. The merchandise, he said, was brought back to New York and then shipped to China. He received $10 per device, the report said.

When asked where his drop-off was in New York, Chen was accused of saying he did not know off the top of his head, but it was on his cell phone. During his current trip to New Hampshire, he purchased items with the cards from Concord, Hooksett, and Salem, the report stated.

The day before, according to the report, he purchased four iPads at Walmart, which “were conducted using several Walmart gift cards” the report.

Chen was arrested on organized retail crime enterprise and theft by deception with intent to redistribute stolen goods, both felonies. He refused bail and was sent to the county jail.

Two Arrested In March

Two more suspects were arrested in March after incidents at Walmart.

Naxin Wu, 25, with a last known address of 47th Street in Brooklyn, NY, was arrested at 1:45 p.m. on March 5 on a felony theft by deception resale distribution charge. Mengying Jiang, 33, of Harbor Avenue in Nashua was arrested about two hours later, at 1:53 p.m. on March 5, on organized retail crime enterprise and theft by deception with intent to redistribute stolen goods, both felonies.

While investigating the Chen case, detectives found “documentation” on his cell phone that led to an apartment in Nashua.

A search warrant was requested and granted. On Jan. 4, “a large quantity of Apple brand devices, cash, and a computer program that appeared to be running gift card numbers, in real-time,” according to an affidavit.

Wu, the affidavit said, was one of the occupants of the apartment — with the master bedroom “containing almost exclusively female items.” Jiang was also at the apartment during the search.

Police seized 24 Apple iPhones, hidden in the master bedroom bathroom vanity, 35 iPhones in a master bedroom closet, 15 iPhone Pro Max devices, a Google phone, $4,000 in cash, ledgers, and $23,750 in cash.

“While executing the search warrant,” the detective wrote, “a package delivery drive from UPS arrived at the apartment with a delivery of 15 packages.”

The packages contained iPhones. The UPS driver said they made approximately four daily deliveries to the apartment, primarily Apple products.

Detectives said they found several ledgers written in Chinese, but some information was readable, including names and store transaction amounts next to each name. The ledgers, the reporting detective wrote, “appeared to be extensive and did not appear on their face to be related to personal retail transactions.”

A laptop Jiang said was his had a screen open and appeared to be running some sort of software involving a large number of gift card numbers, the detective said.

Detectives began working with an investigator from Walmart Global Investigations, who was given gift card numbers found on Wu’s phone, a report stated. Screenshots were also taken from her WeChat app on her phone.

One, the report said, read “Kenny-WM BB,” with the investigator believing WM stood for Walmart while BB meant Best Buy. In the message were gift card numbers, PIN codes, and the value of each card, the detective wrote. Most of the cards were also annotated with “New.”

The detective said, sometimes, the cards were declined for various reasons. Wu and Chen, the report said, were in the group of WeChat screenshots.

A spreadsheet created by the Walmart investigator found 13 gift card numbers were used on Dec. 13, 2023. In those transactions, two iPads and a Quest 3 128G device were purchased for $997.

On Nov. 28, 2023, a card that only had $25 loaded on it was used and listed by Walmart as lost or stolen, the report stated.

Another card was activated with $500 at a Walmart in Spokane, Washington, but was used Dec. 13, 2023, in Concord and frozen later by Walmart. The large amount loaded on this card struck the detective as odd, but checked surveillance footage and found it was an older white woman with gray hair, talking on a cell phone and carrying a purse, when she made the purchase. The woman paid for the card with five $100 bills, the report stated.

The detective noted the woman remained unidentified by investigators but may have been the victim of a phone scam. The woman also purchased eight other gift cards, totaling $4,000, during four transactions across five minutes, the report stated.

The detective accused Chen of using one of the cards the woman purchased 24 hours later.

During the investigation, the report said, three more cards were connected to Wu — two $500 cards purchased by a woman from Vancouver, WA, and a third one purchased in Murphysboro, Illinois.

Police interviewed the Vancouver woman who said a person with an accent instructed her to purchase several cards. When she began to doubt the legitimacy later and challenged the person, they became aggressive.

Wu, in a group chat, wrote in Chinese that one of the cards was “stolen,” the detective wrote.

A warrant was then issued for her arrest.

On Jan. 6, the Walmart loss prevention employee located another transaction from Dec. 2, 2023, involving Air Pod Max headphones and an Apple iPad, valued at $748, which were purchased with nine gift cards. One of the cards was from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the report said.

The detective reviewed the surveillance footage and matched it to Jiang as well as a white Lexus IS300 with New York plates, the report said.

The loss prevention employee said Jiang was also suspected in making fraudulent purchases at numerous Walmarts throughout New Hampshire, an affidavit said.

“These incidents are still under investigation,” the detective said.

A warrant was issued for Jiang’s arrest.

All three arrests were initially booked in Concord District Court but were bound over to Merrimack County Superior Court.

Chen, Wu, and Jiang were held on $500,000 cash bail.

Chen is due in superior court on April 11 for arraignment and a dispositional conference hearing, while Jiang and Wu are due in superior court for a dispositional conference hearing on May 14.