Mengying Jiang, 34, of Nashua, is one of three Chinese nationals who pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Courtesy photo/Concord Police Department

CONCORD – Naxin Wu, 26, and Mengying Jiang, 34, Chinese nationals residing in Nashua, were recently sentenced to prison for their involvement in a fraudulent gift card operation.

Wu was sentenced to two years, seven months in prison followed by one year of supervised release. Jiang was sentenced to five years in prison followed by one year of supervised release.

A third defendant, Mingdong Chen, 28, a Chinese national living in Brooklyn, N.Y., will spend two years behind bars followed by one year of supervised release.

According to court documents, Chen was arrested on Dec. 28, 2023 after using a gift card at Walmart in Concord. The card actually belonged to a man in Alabama. Wu and Jiang were arrested on March 5, 2024 following a similar incident also at Walmart. The trio was held on a $500,000 cash bail.

Police searched Jiang’s Harbor Avenue apartment on Jan. 4, 2024 and found 24 Apple iPhones, 35 iPhones, 15 iPhone Pro Max devices, a Google phone, ledgers and $27,750 in cash.

Jiang was ultimately responsible for $3 million in fraudulent gift cards. Wu was responsible for $1.4 million and Chen was responsible for $400,000.

The three defendants later pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

“These individuals were part of a Chinese transnational criminal organization that used a complex scheme to steal and launder millions of dollars through gift card theft,” said Michael Krol, special agent in charge of Homeland Security investigations in New England. “After a sophisticated criminal investigation with our partners, their scheme was uncovered and their crimes brought to light. Now, they’ll serve federal prison sentences and face deportation back to China.”

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, organized criminal organizations based in China obtain fraudulent gift cards by hacking into American companies as well as targeting U.S. citizens through romance schemes and elder fraud.

The gift card data is then sent to Chinese nationals who have set up operations in the U.S. New Hampshire has become particularly attractive as there is no sales tax. This allows the Chinese organizations to maximize their profits. The gift cards are finally used to purchase high-priced electronic devices. The products are then shipped to China, Hong Kong and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.