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On Wednesday, July 26, 58-year-old John Chen was sentenced to three-and-a-half to seven years in prison for charges related to the scam, the Nassau County District Attorney announced.
Between November 2020 and December 2021, American Express investigators noticed that about 10 cardholders were making similar expensive purchases at the same stores.
The majority of the purchases were made at Apple stores in Manhasset and Garden City, the DA’s Office said.
The purported cardholders had not paid off large card balances, and six of them had addresses listed in Flushing, where Chen resides.
An investigation (and later, his guilty plea) revealed that Chen was responsible.
In what is known as a “bust-out” scam, he opened credit cards in the names of other people, including some who were deceased.
Then, Chen would pay down his early card balances so that American Express would grant him a higher credit line.
Using the cards, he would purchase iPhones or Apple gift cards, which are high in resale value.
Video surveillance from stores and audio recordings caught Chen claiming to be the one buying the gift cards.
He was arrested in August of 2022.
Additionally, the investigators tracked Chen to casinos across the United States, including in Memphis, Las Vegas, and going as far west as California.
The DA’s Office reported that Chen has dozens of convictions across multiple states and even federally for charges such as criminal impersonation and forgery.
“The defendant is a con man and fraudster who has engaged in criminal activity his entire adult life,” said DA Donnelly. “I thank our detective investigators and prosecutors for bringing this prolific defendant to justice.”
Chen pleaded guilty to the charge of grand larceny (a felony) on June 9, 2023.
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