Mississauga men charged after police seize 5,700 fraudulent gift cards in $1M retail fraud probe
Posted May 21, 2026 1:11 pm.
Halton police say two Mississauga men are facing a list of charges after investigators uncovered a multi‑jurisdictional gift‑card fraud scheme that stretched across Ontario and put more than $1 million in potential losses at risk.
The arrests follow a months‑long investigation dubbed Project Reload, launched by the Halton Regional Police Service in March 2026 after officers linked a suspect to a pattern of tampered gift cards being placed on store racks across the province.
Police say the fraud involved pre‑purchased, compromised gift cards that were secretly placed back onto retail display racks. Unsuspecting customers would later buy and activate the cards at the checkout.
Once activated, investigators allege the suspect immediately redeemed the funds to purchase goods before the legitimate buyer ever attempted to use the card.
Search warrants lead to arrests and major seizure
The investigation began in December 2025, when staff at a Burlington Walmart reported a man removing gift cards from his pockets, placing them on a display rack, selecting additional cards, concealing them, and leaving the store without paying.
As the probe expanded, investigators identified suspected fraudulent activity in Halton, Hamilton, Brantford, Niagara, Toronto, Peel Region, Durham Region, Kitchener‑Waterloo, Guelph, York Region and Barrie.
Police conducted surveillance and seized a number of compromised cards, loading them with controlled amounts of money for evidentiary purposes. By April 2026, they confirmed several of those monitored cards had been redeemed and used to purchase merchandise.
On May 12, officers executed three search warrants in Mississauga. Two men were arrested, and police seized a large quantity of items tied to the alleged scheme, including:
- A 2012 BMW X3 SUV
- 5,700 prepaid gift cards with discernible values, representing more than $1 million in potential losses
- 137 bottles of alcohol worth more than $11,000
- Four mobile phones, a MacBook, and two laptops
- $700 in counterfeit currency
- 487 packs of Belmont cigarettes, valued at more than $8,000
- High‑end watches, jewellery, sunglasses and perfumes
- Tools and devices used for tampering, forgery and card production, including a card‑making instrument and card printer
- A black pellet pistol, a break‑barrel pellet rifle, a C8‑style pellet rifle, and a Sig Sauer P226 pellet gun
Police say the items reflect both the proceeds of the fraud and the tools used to carry it out.
Two Mississauga men are now facing multiple charges: Giorgi Khandolishvili, 48, and Jevgenij Piskunov, 40.
Both men were released on an undertaking and are scheduled to appear in court in Milton at a later date.
