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Jian He, 28, and Min He, 35, are charged with theft and related felony counts, said Plumstead police.
It happened on Tuesday, Nov. 28 around 10 p.m., when officers were called to the Giant at Cross Keys Place for suspicious activity, the department said.
They arrived and spoke with an assistant manager who spotted two shoppers walk into the store and place 75 outside gift cards worth over $3,000 onto the rack, according to police.
Authorities said store security footage showed the men leaving in a silver Mitsubishi with California plates. They were identified as the Hes and arrested on Saturday, Dec. 2 after their car was seen in a Chester County parking lot, police said.
Investigators believe the pair were manipulating the gift card packaging to reveal the key code that allows the card to be redeemed. After they logged the numbers, authorities said the pair would put the gift cards back and wait for them to be sold.
When an unsuspecting customer bought the gift card and activated it, the men used the logged key code to "drain" its contents without the customer's knowledge, detectives said.
They may have done the same at another area Giant before police were called in Plumstead, according to authorities.
The Hes, both of Monterey Park, California, are awaiting extradition to Bucks County as of Monday, Dec. 4, police added.
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