Two men charged in stolen gift card scheme in Rhode Island
BRISTOL, R.I. January 7th, 2024 The Bristol Police Department arrested two men on Thursday afternoon in a fraudulent gift card scheme.
Police responded to a CVS Thursday afternoon for a report of suspicious activity.
A CVS employee reported the suspicious man after seeing him acting strangely around the gift card aisle. A CVS security guard attempted to approach the man, but the suspicious man fled the building.
Once the police arrived at the scene, a witness stated that he saw the man running across the CVS parking lot toward a vehicle and left the scene.
Authorities located the vehicle at a nearby street and were able to identify the suspect as Li Wei, 36, from Elmhurst, New York.
Police found boxes in the vehicle that contained a large amount of gift cards. Wei was taken into custody for further investigation.
Special Agents from Homeland Security teamed up with Bristol Police to seize over 3,200 assorted gift cards. Authorities also shared that gift card tampering has been occurring in Rhode Island over the past month.
A second suspect, Li Shanhua, 48, also from New York, was also identified. Both men are being charged with obtaining money under false pretenses and conspiracy.
Li was held on $5,000 surety and Shanhua was held on $10,000 surety.
The police department said they are working with Homeland Security on this matter and further charges are pending.
