华人Liang Xiong承认参与全美礼品卡诈骗：车内查获134张被盗卡，最高面临10年监禁
美国司法部密苏里州东区联邦检察官办公室11月4日宣布，39岁的华人Liang Xiong当天在位于密苏里州圣路易斯（St. Louis）的美国联邦地区法院认罪，承认参与一场遍及全美的礼品卡诈骗。他就一项「持有15件或以上未授权访问设备」罪名认罪。
根据认罪协议，2026年2月24日至至少3月11日，Liang Xiong从全美各地的零售商处偷取礼品卡。他撕开遮盖卡号的封条、记下序号，再把已被动过手脚的礼品卡放回科罗拉多州、爱荷华州和密苏里州商店的货架上。检方称，一旦这些卡被顾客购买并激活，Liang Xiong等人便打算用事先记下的序号盗走卡内资金。
Liang Xiong承认，他于3月10日从密苏里州O'Fallon一家商店偷走15张Amazon礼品卡；次日，他又在St. Charles一家商店的货架上放入16张此前偷走的Apple礼品卡。他当天被St. Charles警察局逮捕，警方在其车内查获来自三家零售商的134张已被盗改的礼品卡。认罪协议称，这些卡若被付费顾客购买并激活，总值将达58,300美元；本案全部礼品卡都在顾客购买之前被追回。
法庭文件显示，Liang Xiong经墨西哥非法进入美国，有一份庇护申请尚在审理。美国移民与海关执法局（ICE）下属国土安全调查局（HSI）提示消费者留意礼品卡被篡改或伪造的迹象。
Liang Xiong定于2027年2月10日量刑，所认罪名最高可判10年监禁、25万美元罚款，或两者并处；司法部称，他服刑期满后很可能被遣返。本案由国土安全调查局与St. Charles警察局调查，联邦助理检察官Karin Schute负责起诉。
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.
来源：美国司法部
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：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).
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