Behind The Scenes of a $2.2 Million Gift Card Fraud Scheme

A 63-year-old Chinese National is facing decades in Federal prison after he was found guilty in connection to a scheme that netted him more than $2 million dollars in gift cards.

Jun Wang, 63, a Chinese national and lawful permanent resident of the United States, was found guilty of participating in a money laundering conspiracy in federal court in Albany, according to First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albany Field Office.

Evidence presented in December 2025 proved that, between June 2019 and June 2021, Wang redeemed $2,285,039.81 in gift cards originally purchased by defrauded victims throughout the United States (including in the Northern District of New York).

 “Wang was a knowing and essential player in a calculated, international scheme that preyed on victims, including the elderly, throughout the United States," First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarcone stated. "We will tirelessly pursue and hold accountable individuals involved in every level of these fraud schemes. There is no safe harbor for those who profit from exploiting vulnerable Americans.”

Wang, reportedly received the gift card information electronically from co-conspirators overseas, and then used the fraud proceeds to buy other gift cards at Walmart and Sam’s Club stores in Florida to disguise the source and nature of the funds.

According to the FBI, to try to evade detection and disguise the volume of his gift card redemptions, "Wang often used different registers within the same store and frequently drove from store to store to redeem gift cards, sometimes visiting several Walmart stores on the same day."

Wang was working fast. He often redeemed gift cards just hours, and sometimes minutes, after they were purchased by victims. Several of these victims testified at trial about the gift cards they purchased after being scammed online or over the phone.

Although the trial evidence proved that Wang’s role in the scheme was to redeem gift cards purchased by victims he never interacted with directly, he admitted to an FBI agent in a secretly recorded conversation that:

“[w]e all know” about the fraud, which is “[e]asy to know.” In relation to one elderly victim," Wang explained on the recording. “[t]he only loser is the lady,” and, “[o]ther than this lady, everybody’s happy.”

Wang will be sentenced on June 16, 2026, facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $500,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years.