UMVA has learned that a daring scheme involving pre-purchased gift cards has been uncovered in Halton Region, leading to the arrest of two Mississauga men.
The investigation began when police received a complaint in December concerning a suspected fraud at a Walmart Supercentre in Burlington. An unidentified man was allegedly seen removing gift cards from his pockets and placing them onto a display rack, before selecting additional cards, concealing them, and exiting the store without activating or purchasing them.
The alleged scheme involved placing compromised gift cards onto retail display racks and later monitoring the cards for activation by unsuspecting customers. Once funds were loaded onto the cards, the suspect would redeem the balances before the purchaser could use them.
According to information obtained by UMVA, Halton’s Project Reload was initiated in March by the Financial Crimes Unit to investigate the suspected involvement of the male in an organized gift card fraud scheme operating throughout Ontario. The investigation identified suspected fraudulent activity in numerous regions, including Halton, Hamilton, Brantford, Niagara, Toronto, Peel, Durham, Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, York, and Barrie.
Through investigative efforts, police identified the suspect and located a vehicle believed to be connected to the offences. Ongoing surveillance revealed that the suspect was actively and systematically placing gift cards onto retail display racks at various locations.
During the course of the probe, investigators seized a quantity of gift cards and loaded them with varying monetary values. Funds from several of the monitored cards had been redeemed to purchase various goods.
On May 12, police executed three search warrants in Mississauga, seizing 17 items, including a 2012 BMW X3 SUV, 5,700 prepaid gift cards, 137 bottles of alcohol with an approximate value of $11,000, a MacBook, a Sig Sauer P226 pellet gun, and various amounts of high-end watches, jewelry, and sunglasses.
Giorgi Khandolishvili, 48, of Mississauga, was charged with seven offences, including fraud over $5,000, two counts of fraud under $5,000, forgery, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, and possession of instruments for forgery. Jevgenij Piskunov, 40, of Mississauga, was also charged with seven offences, including fraud over $5,000, fraud under $5,000, forgery, and property obtained by crime over $5,000.
Both accused were released on an undertaking with a future court date in Milton. Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact the Halton Regional Police Services Financial Crimes Unit.
