Not sure I’d consider Nitecore shady. Do you have evidence of any shady issues Nitecore has engaged in?
As far as that goes, it’s far more likely to be a fake Nitecore. That is, some Chinese guy is recycliing used laptop batteries and has 200,000 Nitecore wrappers to use up. Nitecore chargers have been and are being counterfeited. (see links below) The OP received it as a gift so we cannot even authenticate the purchased location.
https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/37563
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?424302-Fake-Nitecore-Chargers-even-in-very-big-stores-D4-and-others
