Jiandong Cao and Xuejun Zheng were both arrested by the Pelham Police Department recently for allegedly possessing 15 counterfeit devices after being suspected of switching out gift cards at local CVS stores.
According to their indictment, Cao is a Chinese illegal alien and Zheng is a Chinese citizen with a protected asylum immigration status.
Local and federal law enforcement found 5,078 gift cards in their possession during a search of their vehicle.
“On June 25, 2025, USSS Birmingham Field Office Special Agents and Investigative Analysts began to inventory and inspect each of the 5,078 gift cards. The cards were from various retailers including Amazon, Home Depot, Dicks Sporting Goods, Nike, Lululemon, Sephora, Macy’s and Nordstrom/Nordstrom Rack. While inventorying the cards, it was discovered that over 300 cards, including Home Depot, Amazon, Sephora and Macy’s and Nike cards were altered. Each card package had been resealed with glue, and, upon opening each of them, it was discovered that parts of the gift card numbers and/or PIN numbers on the cards had been obliterated/altered,” according to the indictment.
Chinese Counterfeit Gift Cards by Caleb Taylor on Scribd
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