Ventura County Detectives Arrest Two Suspects in Gift Card Scam
Ventura County detectives, part of the region’s retail theft task force, arrested two suspected Chinese nationals for allegedly executing a sophisticated gift card scam. The arrests took place during a “blitz” operation in Moorpark last Friday, which involves undercover detectives working alongside uniformed deputies and store loss prevention officers to combat shoplifting and organized crime.
While monitoring a large retail store on New Los Angeles Avenue, security guards alerted the detectives to two men stealing numerous gift cards from a display rack. Deputies apprehended 39-year-old Tingxiang Yang and 35-year-old Lingyu Chen shortly after they exited the store, carrying approximately 800 stolen gift cards.
Investigators linked these thefts to a criminal technique known as “card draining.” In this scheme, thieves steal gift cards, open them to record their numbers and PINs, and then replace the cards on the store racks. Once a customer buys the card and adds funds, the suspects can access and drain the account.
Yang and Chen were arrested on felony charges of conspiracy to commit organized retail theft and booked into a Ventura jail. They have since posted bail and are expected to appear in Ventura County Superior Court on May 24.