Two Chinese nationals were sentenced to more than 12 months imprisonment for their involvement in a gift card scheme directed at Target shoppers across the Midwest.
Hongying Wang, 53, and Guangwei Gao, 38, pleaded guilty to one felony count of using and trafficking in a counterfeit access device. The pair have been incarcerated since Jan. 21, 2023, and so have served their full prison time.
“The defendants placed fake gift cards onto sales racks with the intention of stealing the loaded funds once purchased by patrons,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “The investigation took a coordinated effort, and I commend the law enforcement officials contributed to this case.”
According to court documents, Wang, Gao, or others working with them, retained the access numbers to 6,100 gift cards with the intent to place the altered gift cards on the sales racks at Target.
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Once a gift card was loaded with funds by an unsuspecting patron, the fraudsters would have the codes needed to steal the funds.