Junshi Zhang, 26, of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Kesheng He, 37, of Orlando, Fla., were charged Monday in Hennepin County on suspicion of using other people’s identities to buy tens of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise.
An employee of a Mall of America jewelry store called police Jan. 20 to report suspicious use of a credit card. After He and an unknown woman had asked to see a Rolex watch, the woman said she would buy the watch and provided a credit card and Connecticut ID. The ID lacked a hologram, which concerned the store clerk, according to the criminal complaint.
http://liarcatchers.com/identity_theft_investigation.html
After the clerk said she would need to call the credit card company to verify the woman’s identity, the woman asked for the ID and credit card back and left the store with He, the complaint states.
Zhang and He were found in a vehicle leaving the mall property, and police recovered credit cards — some of them cut up — that belonged to other people. Police also found merchandise totaling more than $65,000 and gift cards, according to the complaint.
The merchandise came from several Twin Cities stores, including American Eagle Outfitters, Wilson Leather and Kay Jewelers in Eagan.
Zhang told officers he was the driver and was forced to drive He and the woman, who investigators had not yet located, because he had a gambling debt and did not want to get beat up, the complaint states.
Zhang’s attorney, Jennifer Speas, declined to comment on the case. An attorney listed for He could not be reached Wednesday.
