Shop with a Cop program leads to man facing over 300 counterfeiting charges

COSHOCTON, Ohio (WCMH) -- Coshocton County's "Shop with a Cop" program led to a man being indicted on hundreds of counterfeiting charges in an alleged gift card scheme.

Ming Xue, 32, of China, was indicted Monday by a Coshocton County grand jury. He faces 308 counts of counterfeiting and one of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.

The indictment stems from a Dec. 5 arrest by Coshocton County sheriff's deputies who were participating in a Shop With a Cop program at Walmart. Deputies say Xue was seen hiding unloaded gift cards on himself. Later, the deputies found hundreds more in his vehicle.

Accusations against Xue say he participated in a scheme with others to steal unloaded gift cards, alter them, and place them back on display racks. When those altered cards were purchased by customers, the cash would allegedly be stolen by Xue and his accomplices.

“This man was clearly on a nefarious mission to rip off as many Ohio consumers as possible,” Attorney General Dave Yost said in a news release. “Hats off to the deputies who followed their instincts and got him off the streets before he could inflict more harm.”

Xue, believed to have entered the country in September, does not have the documentation to legally be in the U.S.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Coshocton County Common Pleas Court.