A Chinese national is facing up to three years of jail time and potential deportation for a scam that involved stealing and altering gift cards from Walmart locations in Butler County and the Pittsburgh region, police said.

Zhixiang Chen, 20, pleaded guilty Friday in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court to stealing Apple gift cards from at least six Walmart locations and altering them to redirect the funds to himself after activation, according to an Office of the Attorney General news release issued Tuesday, Jan. 14. No charges were filed in Butler County.

President Judge Dominick Motto ordered Chen to forfeit the equipment used for the crimes and $16,143, in addition to paying a $25,000 fine.

Chen also is banned from all Walmart locations and faces an 18-month-to-three-year sentence.

“The defendant not only committed high-dollar thefts from retail stores, he also victimized consumers who bought the gift cards he had retired to store shelves after altering them for his own profit,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry said. “After the gift cards were loaded with value by unsuspecting purchasers, the defendant would drain the balances leaving them with worthless cards.”

Chen left some stores with the cards and was caught in May leaving a Walmart with 126 gift cards hidden in his jacket, according to the news release. Authorities later found nearly 4,000 more Apple gift cards in his car, cash and equipment for the crimes.

The estimated value of the gift cards was nearly $1 million. Authorities believe Chen and his associates profited hundreds of thousands of dollars before being caught.

Homeland Security Investigations-Pittsburgh and the Frazer Township Police Department assisted the attorney general with the investigation. Deputy attorney general Rachel Wheeler and senior deputy attorney General Heather Serrano prosecuted the case.

The attorney general’s office was not immediately able to confirm which Butler County Walmart locations were affected.