Getting deplatformed from Apple. “Your account has been permanently disabled. There is nothing else you can do, there is no escalation path.”

Sounds like it to me. Of course the author is vague so we’ll never know. But I’m pretty certain a new card from a major store chain wouldn’t have been reported as stolen… it sounds like the card was bought from a discount site that resells unwanted gift cards. And those are prone to be a way for people to dump stolen cards. Again, the author is vague so we’ll never know for sure.