Miami Gardens man charged in multi-city gift card fraud scheme

Sebastian Garcia Gallego, a 25-year-old from Miami Gardens, was arrested in Cape Coral after police caught him placing over 50 counterfeit gift cards on a store's rack as part of a larger multi-city fraud scheme. Authorities say Gallego would steal gift card account numbers and PINs, return the cards to store racks, and then remotely drain the funds once unsuspecting customers purchased them. Surveillance footage and loss prevention officers identified his actions, and a search of his car revealed more than 200 additional compromised gift cards, packaged in bundles. Gallego admitted to distributing hundreds of such cards in Cape Coral and confessed he was paid to travel to new cities weekly to execute the scam. He faces charges of larceny, fraud, and property damage and is currently in custody. Police advise customers to keep their gift card purchase receipts in case they fall victim to similar scams.