LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Chicago man has admitted to running a stolen-credit-card scheme in Central Kentucky, pleading guilty Friday to federal charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Heng Yin, a Chinese national living in Illinois, acknowledged in court that he used stolen credit card information loaded onto his phone to buy nearly $5,000 in gift cards at a Lexington Meijer grocery store on March 21, 2025, according to federal court records.
Prosecutors said Yin had uploaded details from more than 100 different credit cards into his phone’s digital wallet. Using the “tap to pay” feature, he concealed stacks of gift cards beneath larger items at self-checkout, walked the first batch out to his car, and then returned to buy more. In all, he walked away with 70 gift cards worth $4,825.30, investigators said.
The stolen accounts belonged to people across the country, including one Chase Bank card in the name of a victim identified in court records as “C.R.” Yin admitted he had no legal right to the information and intended to defraud retailers and card issuers.
Yin was arrested in June and originally faced nine felony counts, including multiple wire fraud, access device fraud, and identity theft charges. Under a plea agreement filed Aug. 29, he pleaded guilty to two counts — wire fraud and aggravated identity theft — while prosecutors agreed to drop the rest.
The deal also requires Yin to forfeit the seized gift cards and pay restitution to victims. He waived his right to appeal and accepted that the convictions could trigger his deportation, since he is not a U.S. citizen.
Wire fraud carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Aggravated identity theft adds a mandatory two-year term, which must run consecutively. Sentencing is set for Nov. 25 before U.S. District Judge Karen K. Caldwell.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany Dunn-Pirio is prosecuting the case. Yin is represented by court-appointed attorney Erica Roland of Nicholasville.
