Halton police report that two men from Mississauga have been charged after a lengthy investigation revealed a widespread gift card fraud scheme across Ontario, which could lead to over $1 million in losses.
The arrests came after an extensive operation named Project Reload, initiated by the Halton Regional Police Service in March 2026. This began when officers connected a suspect to several instances of tampered gift cards being found on retail shelves throughout the province.
Authorities say the scam involved compromised gift cards that had been pre-purchased and then covertly placed back on store racks. Unwitting customers would buy and activate these cards at checkout.
After activation, investigators claim the suspect quickly redeemed the funds to buy products before the actual purchaser even attempted to use the card.
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Search warrants result in arrests and significant evidence seized
The investigation kicked off in December 2025, when employees at a Burlington Walmart noticed a man taking gift cards out of his pockets, placing them on display racks, picking additional ones, hiding them away, and leaving without paying. As inquiries progressed, detectives detected suspected fraudulent actions across various locations including Halton, Hamilton, Brantford, Niagara, Toronto, Peel Region, Durham Region, Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, York Region and Barrie. Police conducted surveillance operations and confiscated multiple compromised cards which were loaded with controlled amounts for evidence. By April 2026, they confirmed several of these monitored cards had been redeemed and used for purchases. On May 12th, officers executed three search warrants in Mississauga. Two men were arrested during this operation; authorities seized numerous items linked to the alleged fraud scheme such as: A 2012 BMW X3 SUV 5,700 prepaid gift cards with visible values totaling more than $1 million in potential losses 137 bottles of alcohol valued over $11,000 Four mobile phones along with a Mac Book and two laptops $700 in counterfeit bills 487 packs of Belmont cigarettes worth more than $8,000 Luxury watches, jewelry items including sunglasses and perfumes Tools used for tampering and forgery like a card-making device and printer A black pellet pistol along with a break-barrel pellet rifle and a Sig Sauer P226 pellet gun Police stated that these items represent both the gains from the fraud as well as equipment used to execute it. The two individuals facing multiple charges are Giorgi Khandolishvili (48) and Jevgenij Piskunov (40), both from Mississauga. They have been released on an undertaking and are expected to appear in court in Milton at a later date. Keep it Factual Add City News Toronto as a trusted source on Google to see more local stories from us.Source link
