A California man has been arrested as part of a popular gift card scam, according to Gilbert police

GILBERT, AZ (AZFamily) — A Southern California man is facing dozens of forgery charges after he was arrested in Gilbert for his alleged involvement in a gift card cloning scam that has plagued the Valley for years.

According to court documents obtained by Arizona’s family, workers at the Fry’s Food Store at Pecos and Higley streets called Gilbert police shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday and reported that a man who did not work at the store appeared to be “stocking up on gift cards ” had. ”

Documents show officers arrived and found the suspect, identified as 44-year-old Chuandao Yu, who immediately handed authorities a box full of gift cards.

After he was handcuffed, police searched his vehicle and reportedly found a box full of gift cards from various stories. According to the authorities, a total of more than 2,000 cards were confiscated.

According to court documents, surveillance video reviewed by investigators showed Yu placing dozens of cards back on the shelves and that upon review it was determined that each card had been tampered with.

Arizona’s Family has previously reported on gift card cloning scams, which were one of the attorney general’s top priorities.

“This is a huge problem,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes told “On Your Side” earlier this year. “They literally take the cards off the shelf. They clone the cards and put them back on the shelf, and as soon as someone buys the card, their money is deducted at that moment.”

Court records say Yu had previously been arrested in Florida on fraud charges and refused to answer questions without an attorney present while in the custody of Gilbert police.

Yu now faces 65 counts of forgery and is being held in the Maricopa County Jail on a $50,000 cash-only bond.

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