Irvine Man, 36, Charged With Multiple Felonies in Utah Tap-to-Pay Fraud Case; Payoff Allegedly $100
IRVINE, Calif. — A 36-year-old Chinese man from Irvine, Orange County, California, faces multiple felony charges in Utah's Fourth District Court, filed on November 4, for allegedly using stolen credit card numbers in a tap-to-pay fraud scheme, local media reported on November 8.
The defendant, Liu Huan, is charged with money laundering, engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, theft by deception, unlawful use of technology to commit fraud and unlawful use of a financial card, all second-degree felonies, plus five counts of unlawful acquisition of a financial card, a third-degree felony.
Prosecutors say that starting October 1, Liu made tap-to-pay purchases in St. George, Orem, Sandy, Midvale, Salt Lake City, Draper and other Utah cities, as well as in other states. When he was arrested, police found dozens of gift card receipts, dozens of gift cards and several new, unopened high-end electronics in his car.
Liu admitted driving from Los Angeles to Utah, buying two gift cards worth $980 in total and sending screenshots of them to a person in China, for which he was to receive $100. Prosecutors say the scheme preloads stolen bank card numbers into a phone wallet, taps the phone at self-checkout terminals to buy gift cards or high-end electronics, then sends the card numbers to a handler who drains the funds.
Investigators say the ring is made up mainly of Chinese citizens, is believed to be based in China with operating bases in California and New York, and that dozens of Chinese citizens were arrested in Utah last year for similar fraud.
Source: KSL
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 尔湾市政厅（Irvine City Hall）。（Azusa Tarn 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons）
