Raynham Police Track Down Suspect in Massive $13,400 Pokémon Card Scam

RAYNHAM (WBSM) — A New York man faces charges for allegedly using a fraudulent credit card to purchase over $13,000 in Pokémon cards from a Raynham shop.

High-Value Cards Targeted in Raynham Scam

Raynham Police said that on Tuesday, August 5 at around 7:37 p.m., the department responded to a report from a trading card shop in town that a customer had used a fraudulent credit card to purchase five Pokémon cards valued at $13,400.

The cards were a Bubble Mew valued at $3,200, a $1,300 Jolteon V, a $1,450 Shining Mew, a $4,300 Magikarp, and a $1,250 Blastoise.

Courtesy Raynham Police

The shop was able to provide video surveillance footage that showed the suspect wearing a black hat, black t-shirt with a dog on it, and a black cross-body bag. The video also showed the make, model and registration of the white Mercedes-Benz the suspect drove away from the store.

Social Media Alerts Span Across State Lines

The next day, on August 6, a card shop in Manchester New Hampshire notified Raynham Police that a man fitting the suspect’s description was inside their store attempting to purchase Pokémon cards. The New Hampshire shop had been made aware of the fraud after seeing the Raynham business’s social media post about it.

READ MORE: $100K Pokémon Heist in New Bedford Leads to Arrest

Quick Police Work Leads to Arrest

Raynham Police then contacted Manchester Police, who stopped the driver, who was wearing the same clothes as the previous day and was driving the same white Mercedes, which was determined to be a rental car.

He was identified as Chencai Xie, 41, of Fresh Meadows, New York. Raynham Police obtained an arrest warrant charging him with credit card fraud over $1,200 and larceny over $1,200. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Taunton District Court at a later date.

Police said the Pokémon cards have not yet been recovered.