Chinese National Pleads Guilty in Florida to Gift Card Fraud Scheme
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Liu Cao Yuan, 22, had targeted about 42 grocery stores across Florida, including in St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties, prosecutors said on Nov. 24. He now faces up to five years in prison, after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess 15 or more counterfeit or unauthorized access devices on Sept. 23.
“Gift card fraud schemes like this prey on unsuspecting consumers and erode trust in our everyday retail systems,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said in a statement on Monday.
“Liu’s conviction sends a clear message: those who tamper with gift cards and steal from innocent consumers will be held accountable. Our Office is committed to protecting South Florida communities from these sophisticated fraud operations and ensuring justice for those affected.”
Investigators found that the gift cards they had tampered with were carefully opened, their serial numbers and PINs exposed or removed, and then resealed to look untouched. When unsuspecting customers bought and activated the tampered gift cards, Liu and Chen illegally used the stolen card data to access the accounts and drain the funds.
Liu and Chen were caught on surveillance footage leaving several stores in a black Bentley SUV with a New York license plate, prosecutors said.
On Dec. 17, 2024, law enforcement officials were dispatched to a Publix supermarket in Palm City, Florida, in response to a report of an Asian male and female swapping gift cards from the store’s gift aisle, according to court documents. The suspected tampered gift cards found in the store came from the brands Amazon, Macy, Home Depot, and Target.
On the same day, law enforcement executed a search warrant at their residence apartment in Martin County, Florida, according to prosecutors.
“Multiple gift cards were discovered in various locations around the residence, including numerous gift cards that were ripped and attempted to be flushed down a toilet and residual pieces of paper in the toilet, consistent with the gift cards found in the apartment,” the court documents read.
On Dec. 23, 2024, law enforcement found gift cards in the Bentley after executing a search warrant, prosecutors added.
On April 29 of this year, Publix told law enforcement that 42 of its stores across Florida had been affected by the couple’s fraudulent activity, according to the court documents.
“Based on law enforcement investigations, the total loss associated with the respective values of the gift cards in this case was not more than $250,000,” the court documents read.
Liu’s lawyer did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment by publication time.
“Criminals know gift cards are popular during the holiday season, and they are taking advantage of that,” District Attorney Phil Sorrells said in a statement. “Stay alert. A few seconds of caution can keep you from losing your hard-earned money.”
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