A widespread fraud operation that targeted grocery shoppers from St. Lucie to Miami-Dade County has unraveled, ending with a guilty plea from a 22-year-old man who used a luxury SUV to travel between crime scenes.
Cao Yuan Liu, a Chinese national, appeared in Fort Pierce federal court on Monday, pleading guilty to participating in a scheme that drained funds from unsuspecting gift card buyers.
According to federal prosecutors, the scam ran for nearly the entire year of 2024. Liu and a co-conspirator hit approximately 42 different grocery stores across Florida, focusing heavily on the southeast coast…