Michigan man pleads guilty to stealing $1 million worth of Meijer mPerks points
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A 22-year-old Grand Haven man pleaded guilty Monday in connection with a mass cyber theft at Meijer mPerks that resulted in corporate losses currently estimated at more than $1 million.
Nicholas Mui pleaded guilty to operating a criminal organization in Kent County 17.th Circuit Court, according to a press release from the office of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Mui will also lose his computer tower and about $630,000 in frozen cryptocurrency and cash, the office said.
In a statement, Nessel praised the unique team in her office, along with the Michigan State Police and Meijer, who worked on the case.
“Their complex investigations were instrumental in obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation and protecting a loyalty program used by many in our state,” Nessel said.
A lawyer for Mui could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mui was arrested in January and charged with nine felonies. Authorities said he targeted grocery chain Meijer’s loyalty program, which lets customers accumulate credits that can be redeemed on future purchases.
Mui was accused of obtaining login credentials from another data leak, cross-checking them for access to the mPerks system and then selling the credentials online. People who bought that information used points they hadn’t earned to make their own purchases, officials said.
Meijer was alerted in the spring of 2023 when Meijer mPerks users’ points disappeared, the Attorney General’s Office said.
The grocery chain has since reinstated customer points, resulting in a business loss.
The so-called FORCE team that worked on the case is the nation’s first unit created in January 2023 to combat criminal organizations that steal, repackage and sell products for profit, the Attorney General’s Office said. The name stands for Focused Organized Retail Crime Enforcement. The Attorney General’s Office team works with state police and cooperates with the FBI and the Postal Inspection Service.
Mui’s sentencing is scheduled for September 5.
Running a criminal organization is a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
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