GARNER, N.C. — Yat Ching Chau, 37, of Brooklyn, and Linshan Chen, 35, of Staten Island, New York, were arrested on Tuesday after being involved in a low-speed chase with Garner police. The two men are facing several charges after allegedly swapping out Apple AirPods from their packaging and returning them to stores with counterfeit products inside.
According to charging documents, the pair returned legitimate Apple AirPod Pro 2 boxes to Target and Walmart locations in Garner and Raleigh, respectively. However, the boxes contained fake AirPods instead of the original products. As a result, Walmart refunded them $546.56, while Target gave them $369.73 for the counterfeit items.
Each legitimate Apple AirPod product is priced at $189.99, but the men pocketed over $900 in fraudulent refunds. During their pursuit, Chen reportedly did not stop when signaled by police and was clocked driving at 10 mph in a 35 mph zone. Police eventually caught up with them and seized 42 sets of counterfeit Apple AirPods and $11,460 in cash from their vehicle, a 2020 Volkswagen Passat.
Chau and Chen now face several charges, including conspiracy to obtain property by false pretense, obtaining property by false pretense, and counterfeit trademark. Each man was held on a $5,000 bond and was released after posting bail. They appeared in a Wake County courtroom on Wednesday afternoon and are scheduled to return to court on January 8, 2025.
This arrest follows similar charges filed against them in New Jersey just two weeks prior. In New Jersey, Chen was charged with theft by deception on December 4.
Both men declined to comment when approached by the media after their court appearance, with plans to have their own attorneys when they return to court.