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<\/p>\nHalton Regional Police have charged two Mississauga men after they allegedly took part in a widespread gift card scam spanning from Niagara Region to Barrie.<\/p>\n
One of the suspects first came to the attention of authorities after a December 2025 incident at a Walmart Supercentre in Burlington.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe investigation was initiated after an unidentified male was observed removing gift cards from his pockets and placing them onto a retail display rack,\u201d a police release explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe individual was subsequently seen selecting additional gift cards, concealing them, and exiting the store without attending any point of sale or attempting to activate or purchase the cards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Investigators allege the suspect would then monitor the compromised gift cards he replaced on the racks, awaiting activation by unsuspecting customers.<\/p>\n
Once funds were loaded onto the cards, investigators say the suspect would redeem the balance online and buy items before the customer who bought the card could use it. <\/p>\n
In March 2026, the Financial Crimes Unit launched Project Reload \u2013 a probe sparked by the male\u2019s suspected involvement in a larger operation across several parts of Ontario, including Halton, Hamilton, Brantford, Niagara, Toronto, Peel, Durham, Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, York and Barrie.<\/p>\n
The suspect was eventually identified, and a suspect vehicle was located.<\/p>\n
\u201cOngoing surveillance revealed that the suspect was actively and systematically placing gift cards onto retail display racks at various locations,\u201d police allege. <\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the course of the investigation, investigators seized a quantity of these gift cards and, for evidentiary purposes, loaded them with varying monetary values. In April 2026, investigators confirmed that funds from several of the monitored cards had been redeemed. Subsequent investigation determined that the suspect used the cards to purchase various goods.\u201d<\/p>\n
On May 12, officers executed three search warrants in Mississauga, arresting two suspects and seizing the following items.<\/p>\n
\u2022 2012 BMW X3 SUV
\u2022 5,700 prepaid gift cards with discernible values \u2013 Total at-risk loss over $1 million
\u2022 137 bottles of alcohol seized with an approximate total value of over $11,000
\u2022 Four mobile phones
\u2022 MacBook
\u2022 Two laptops
\u2022 $700 in counterfeit currency
\u2022 487 Belmont cigarette packs with 20 cigarettes per box \u2013 Total value over $8,000
\u2022 High-end watches, jewelry and sunglasses
\u2022 Various perfumes
\u2022 Various instruments used for tampering and forgery
\u2022 Black pellet pistol
\u2022 Break-barreled pellet rifle
\u2022 C8 style pellet rifle
\u2022 Black Sig Sauer P226 pellet gun
\u2022 Card-making instruments and other tools to tamper with gift cards
\u2022 Card printer<\/p>\n
Giorgi Khandolishvili, 48, and Jevgenij Piskunov, 40, both face numerous charges, including fraud over $5,000, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, forgery and possession of instruments of forgery.<\/p>\n
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