Yang-Shi Lin, Credit Card Fraud, Connecticut 2018

NEW HAVEN, CT – The East Coast retail landscape became a hunting ground for a New York-based crew skimming credit card data and racking up nearly $179,000 in fraudulent purchases, according to federal prosecutors. Two key players in the operation, YANG-SHI LIN, 31, of Flushing, and MEI BAO LU, 31, also of Flushing, have now faced justice in a Connecticut courtroom.

MEI BAO LU, identified as the mastermind, was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release by Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall. YANG-SHI LIN, LU’s second-in-command, received a slightly lighter sentence of 12 months and one day, also followed by two years of supervised release. Both men are scheduled to report to prison on March 7, 2018.

Between 2014 and September 2015, the duo led a team of “buyers” who utilized counterfeit credit cards created from stolen card information. The scheme centered around purchasing gift cards and high-end merchandise from retailers across eight states: Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The goods were then offloaded at a discount, likely to fences and black market buyers, authorities say.

The operation wasn’t a few scattered incidents; investigators uncovered evidence of 120 counterfeit cards issued by 18 different financial institutions. Beyond the $179,000 in completed fraudulent transactions, authorities discovered a digital hoard – 333 additional stolen card numbers stored on thumb drives belonging to LU and LIN, representing potential further losses. The initial spark for the investigation came from the Clinton, Connecticut Police Department, who fielded complaints of unauthorized charges after numerous victims reported dining at the same local restaurant in early February 2015.

LU’s arrest came after a year-long manhunt. A federal warrant was issued in August 2015, and he was finally apprehended in Barboursville, West Virginia in September 2016, caught red-handed with three accomplices attempting to make purchases with counterfeit cards. LIN was arrested shortly after, in August 2015. Both pleaded guilty to one count of access device fraud and aiding and abetting. This wasn’t an isolated incident; several other members of LU‘s crew have already been convicted in state and federal courts across Maine, New Jersey, New York, and West Virginia.

The investigation was a multi-agency effort, led by Homeland Security Investigations and the Clinton Police Department, with significant assistance from the U.S. Secret Service, and police departments in Millburn, NJ; New York City; New York State; Acton, MA; and Barboursville, WV. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel prosecuted the case, bringing the perpetrators to account for their brazen scheme.

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