Chinese National Liang Xiong Admits Nationwide Gift Card Fraud: 134 Compromised Cards Found in His Car, Faces Up to 10 Years
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri announced on November 4 that Liang Xiong, 39, pleaded guilty that day in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, Missouri, to participating in a nationwide scam involving gift cards. He pleaded guilty to one count of possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices.
From February 24, 2026, through at least March 11, 2026, Xiong stole gift cards from retailers throughout the United States, according to his plea agreement. Xiong removed the strip concealing the serial number on the gift cards and recorded that number before placing the compromised gift cards back on display racks in stores in Colorado, Iowa and Missouri. Once the gift cards were purchased and activated, Xiong and others intended to steal the funds on the cards by using the serial numbers they had recorded.
Xiong admitted stealing 15 Amazon gift cards on March 10, 2026, from a store in O'Fallon, Missouri. The next day, he placed 16 previously stolen Apple gift cards in a display in a store in St. Charles. He was arrested that day by the St. Charles Police Department with 134 compromised gift cards from three retailers in his vehicle. The total value of the cards would have been $58,300 had the cards been purchased and activated by paying customers, and all the gift cards in this case were recovered prior to any customers purchasing them, the plea agreement says.
Court documents indicate Xiong entered the country illegally through Mexico and has a pending asylum claim. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations recommends looking out for signs that gift cards have been altered or counterfeited.
Xiong is scheduled to be sentenced on February 10, 2027. The charge carries a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or both. He will also likely be deported upon his release from prison. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the St. Charles Police Department, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Karin Schute is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于圣路易斯的 Thomas F. Eagleton 联邦法院大楼（穹顶建筑），Liang Xiong 在此认罪。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，公共领域（裁切）。 / Photo: The Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse in St. Louis (domed building), where Liang Xiong pleaded guilty. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped).
