Authorities in Texas have arrested three Eastern European men accused of running a gift card fraud operation spanning multiple states and totaling $14 million in losses, Fox News reports.
Kristians Petroviskis, Romunds Cubrevics, and Nurmunds Ulevicus—all citizens of Latvia—were taken into custody by the Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center (FCIC), according to a report from Fox Austin.
Investigators said the suspects admitted to stealing gift cards from around ten retail stores each day, seven days a week, since May. They allegedly removed the cards from their packaging to expose the concealed numbers needed to activate or transfer funds.
“The card is removed, and then the material on the back that covers up the numbers to transfer anything or activate the card is then removed so that they can see it,” FCIC Director Adam Colby explained. “The numbers that are on the card are then programmed into another program that the criminals are using, which will now monitor that card.”
Colby also confirmed that the suspects were in the United States without legal status.
After recording the information, the men allegedly reassembled the cards to look brand new and placed them back on store shelves. When unsuspecting customers purchased and activated the tampered cards, the suspects were able to detect when money was added and quickly transfer the funds elsewhere.
“As soon as it is activated and money placed onto that card, the criminals are now aware of it, but they now have the ability to transfer the money off of that card and onto another card where it is then cashed out or used to buy high-end merchandise,” Colby explained further.
When arrested, the suspects were reportedly carrying more than 400 gift cards. Investigators believe they targeted stores across several Texas cities, including Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. The three men now face first-degree charges for fraudulent possession of gift cards.
The arrests come at a time when federal authorities are paying increased attention to fraud cases connected to illegal immigrants. In Minneapolis, officials recently opened a large-scale probe into alleged child daycare fraud.