LYNNFIELD — Jinbin Ren has been indicted for allegedly playing a role in an international conspiracy to defraud victims of millions of dollars worth of gift cards to purchase Apple products.
The 38 year old, who is originally from China but lived in Lynnfield, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he and several others have been accused of acquiring gift cards that were stolen from victims through scams as well as romance fraud, elder fraud, and hacking. He and his conspirators then allegedly used those gift cards to purchase Apple products and electronics that were then shipped to New Hampshire, as the state doesn’t have sales tax.
Ren also operated a warehouse in Salem where they would ship the electronics to China and Hong Kong. When law enforcement searched the defendant’s warehouse in 2024, they found iPhones purchased with the stolen gift cards. More than 4,000 iPhones were seized, according to The New Hampshire Union Leader, which is said to be worth between $8-9 million.
Ren’s lawyer, John Dennehy, has since filed a motion to dismiss the charges in Merrimack County Superior Court, stating that the misappropriation of gift cards did not become a crime in New Hampshire until Jan. 1 of this year, which was after Ren was arrested. As for the products themselves, he has also said that they were not stolen.
“Allegations related to misappropriation of gift cards is misplaced because the unauthorized use of gift cards did not become criminalized until after the defendant was arrested,” Dennehy said.
The conspirators also used WeChat, a messaging app in China, to coordinate the purchases, sales, shipments, and payments, which were made through cryptocurrency.
Ren is currently facing a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Concord Police Department are currently leading the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire and Trial Attorneys Emily Cohen and Madison Albrecht of the Department of Justice’s Money Laundering, Narcotics, and Forfeiture Section are prosecuting the case.
