Huachao Sun/China/Larceny, Fraud

Chinese national Huachao Sun was arrested in Michigan in connection with a large-scale fraud and theft scheme involving thousands of altered retail gift cards used to steal funds from Metro Detroit shoppers.

According to the Michigan Attorney General’s FORCE Team, Sun and a co-defendant allegedly stole unsold gift cards from store racks, recorded the hidden redemption numbers, then returned the cards to Meijer locations around the region. Once legitimate customers loaded money onto the tampered cards, the suspects are accused of electronically draining balances into other accounts, leaving victims with worthless cards.

Sun was arrested at a Dearborn hotel after postal inspectors intercepted a suspicious package containing more than 1,500 gift cards addressed to the suspects, and search warrants later recovered more than 3,000 cards tied to the scheme. He was charged with conducting a criminal enterprise and possession of fraudulent or altered transaction devices, offenses that reflect both fraudulent activity and theft from Michigan consumers and retailers.