A plano woman believed to be part of an organized crime ring, has been arrested for scheming elderly victims into buying as much as $4 million in gift cards and then redeeming them.
Lin Qiu,28 redeemed 2000 Walmart shopping and gift cards.
Investigators told police they detected a “very large suspected fraud and money laundering case” in Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant counties.
They said the cards were being redeemed shortly after being bought.
According to reports a 78 year old Colleyville man contacted 911 claiming that he received an email that claimed to be an invoice from Apple.
He says he then called the number on the invoice to gain more information.
A person answered the phone claiming to be a representative for Apple and gained access to the man’s phone and personal information.
They then convinced the man to buy gift cards and give them the numbers, according to police.
The next day the man says he noticed a $400 transaction on his bank account.
Investigators tracked Qiu driving from store to store in her vehicle.
She was seen redeeming the cards at different
Walmart locations within 40 minutes of gaining access to them.
Between May 8 and July 7, Walmart Investigators say Qiu redeemed cards worth $740,000.
Just a week later she redeemed another $491,000.
Qiu was arrested on charges of engaging in organized crime, theft, money laundering, and exploitation of the elderly.
She’s being held on a $500,000 bond.
