Peters Township police charge ‘John Doe’ in credit card scheme
Peters Township police charged a still-unidentified man Monday for making several purchases with stolen credit cards.
Court records refer to the man as “John Doe” and indicate he is a Chinese national. He faces felony charges of organized retail theft and access device fraud.
According to the criminal complaint, on July 4 police were called to the Giant Eagle on Washington Road after the unknown man made several fraudulent purchases.
Charging documents state the man had been using stolen credit card information at numerous Giant Eagle locations over the previous two weeks. Employees at the Peters Township location recognized him from a photo sent in a company-wide email and monitored his actions in the store.
He purchased about $718 in gift cards using 14 different credit cards. According to the complaint, he is suspected of being involved in more than $25,000 in fraudulent purchases at Giant Eagle stores.
Court records indicate that “John Doe” had at least two accomplices – an unknown female and a man named Shunyuming Yang.
Yang, 23, was arrested by state police Sunday for allegedly engaging in similar activity at a Giant Eagle in Greensburg. Charging documents state he entered the country about two weeks ago on a three-week visa.
“John Doe” and Yang allegedly used stolen information to set up “ghost credit cards” on services such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, court documents state. Yang is in the Westmoreland County jail on $100,000 bond awaiting his preliminary hearing at 10 a.m. July 16.
“These individuals are known to duplicate stolen credit card information for other co-conspirators to use simultaneously. The transactions conducted by these individuals appear legitimate at the time of sale,” police wrote in the complaint.
The yet-to-be identified man was arrested after purchasing more gift cards at Giant Eagle stores in Chippewa Township, Beaver County, and New Castle, Lawrence County.
He was arraigned Monday night before District Judge Michael Manfredi, who sent him to the Washington County jail on $100,000 bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. July 14.