Authorities in Halton Region report that an investigation has revealed thousands of prepaid gift cards, with the alleged scam extending to Barrie.
The Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) has arrested two individuals and filed multiple charges after looking into a fraudulent operation involving pre-purchased gift cards.
Police indicate that the investigation has links throughout southern Ontario, including areas like Barrie.
The probe began in December 2025 when HRPS received a complaint regarding suspected fraud at a Walmart Supercentre located in Burlington.
An unidentified man was seen taking gift cards from his pockets and placing them on a display rack in the store.
This individual was later spotted selecting more gift cards, hiding them away, and leaving the premises without making any attempt to pay or activate them.
The fraudulent scheme involved placing compromised gift cards onto retail displays and then monitoring them for activation by unaware shoppers, according to police reports.
Once money was loaded onto these cards during purchases, the suspect would redeem their balances to acquire goods before the rightful buyer could use them.
A project named Project Reload was launched by the HRPS financial crimes unit in March 2026 after investigating this man’s alleged role in an elaborate organized gift card fraud scheme spanning several jurisdictions across Ontario. Investigators were able to identify him and locate a vehicle linked to the crimes.
The inquiry highlighted suspicious activities across many regions such as Halton, Hamilton, Brantford, Niagara, Toronto, Peel, Durham, Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, York and Barrie.
<p Continued surveillance showed that the suspect was methodically placing gift cards on retail display racks at various locations. During this investigation phase, authorities seized some of these gift cards and loaded them with different monetary amounts for evidence purposes.
By April 2026, investigators confirmed that funds had been redeemed from several monitored cards. Further inquiries revealed that the suspect used these cards for purchasing various items.
On May 12th, police executed three search warrants in Mississauga.
This led to the arrest of one suspect along with another male individual; several items were also confiscated:
2012 BMW X3 SUV
5,700 prepaid gift cards with discernable values – total at risk loss more than $1 million
137 bottles of alcohol seized with an approximate total value of more than $11,000
Four mobile phones
Mac Book
Two laptops
$700 in counterfeit currency
487 Belmont cigarette packs containing 20 cigarettes each – total value exceeding $8,000
Luxury watches, jewelry and sunglasses
Different perfumes
Varying tools used for tampering and forgery
A black pellet pistol
A break barrel pellet rifle
A C8-style pellet rifle
A black Sig Sauer P226 pellet gun
A card making instrument along with other tools used to alter gift cards
A card printer.
The outcome of this investigation led to charges against:
Giorgi Khandolishvili, 48 years old from Mississauga:
Fraud over $5,000
Fraud under $5,000 (two counts)
Possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000 Possession of a forged document with intent Forgery Possession of property obtained by crime over $5.000 Possession instruments for forgery.
Jevgenij Piskunov ,40 years old from Mississauga:
Fraud over $5.000 Fraud under $5.000 Possession of property obtained by crime under $5.000 Possession of a forged document with intent Forgery Possession of property obtained by crime over $5.000 Possession instruments for forgery.
No allegations have been proven in court yet.
The two accused have been released on an undertaking pending a future court date scheduled for Milton.
If anyone has information about this case they are encouraged to contact HRPS financial crimes unit at 905-825-4777.
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