Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies on Saturday arrested a man who is accused of stealing more than 6,000 gift cards from Target as part of an elaborate scam that has been tracked across the U.S.
Deputies witnessed the 37-year-old suspect, Yubo Tian, during the fourth day of a five-day blitz to curb retail theft called “Operation Hot August Nights,” officials from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said. About 50 deputies were stationed at four sites across Sacramento County.
Shortly after 8 p.m., deputies stationed at Target on the 5000 block of Madison Avenue in Old Foothill Farms, noticed a man walk to the gift card wall and begin removing dozens of cards and replacing them with new ones.
Detectives said they immediately recognized his activity as suspicious. They waited for the suspect to leave the store and enter his car before arresting him. The man allegedly stole 70 gift cards from the Target and had about 6,500 other gift cards in his vehicle.
The potential value of the cards was between $40,000 to $3.1 million, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The total would have depended on the dollar amounts loaded onto them by potential victims.
Tian is facing three felony charges, including organized retail theft, tampering with electronic access cards and conspiracy, Detective Andy Cater said.
He was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on Sunday and was arraigned Wednesday in Sacramento Superior Court where he pled not guilty. The Sheriff’s Office said Thursday that Tian was released on his own recognizance.
Detectives suspect Tian is part of a multibillion-dollar theft ring based out of China.
“It is very large, so large in fact that we arrested Mr. Tian on Saturday, and on Monday, another runner had come into the same Target store, and I have the tampered gift cards from that,” Cater said as he grabbed a bag full of dozens of gift cards.
Detectives said scammers tend to use the funds to buy electronics, predominantly Apple products, that are then shipped overseas to China.
“It’s very detailed, very elaborate, and this is part of the reason why a lot of folks aren’t aware of how these work,” Cater said.
In 2023, deputies arrested Ningning Sun outside of a Target in Sacramento. He was ultimately convicted of hoarding more than 5,000 gift cards from Target stores across the U.S. from Nevada to Tennessee.
The Sheriff’s Office said residents should be cautious when buying gift cards from retailers and inspect them for signs of damage, such as scuff marks, undone glue or scratches near the bar code.
The safest gift cards to buy are digital ones or cards that are locked behind a glass case in stores, Cater said.
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