After spending six months in jail, a Mandarin Chinese-speaking immigrant convicted in a gift card fraud scheme targeting Florida shoppers is now being transferred to immigration authorities.
Zhenjun Wei pleaded guilty in federal court in Jacksonville to fraudulent use of 15 or more access devices, a legal term that includes credit cards, debit cards and gift cards. Prosecutors said the scheme resulted in the theft of $22,450 from unsuspecting consumers.
On January 20, Wei was sentenced to time already served. Federal sentencing guidelines recommended no more than six months in custody, which Wei had already completed while awaiting trial at the Baker County Jail. The sentence returned Wei to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service, where he will remain pending processing by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The charge carried a potential maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Wei’s attorney told U.S. District Judge Jordan Pratt that her client came to the United States seeking better opportunities and to escape religious persecution. In a January 13 sentencing memo, Assistant Federal Defender Lisa Call described Wei as a quiet and remorseful individual and noted that his incarceration was particularly isolating because no jail staff spoke Mandarin.
Before his arrest in July 2025, investigators tracked Wei for more than 100 miles, observing him travel from Palm Bay in Brevard County to Palm Coast in Flagler County. Court records show Wei stopped at eight Target stores during the surveillance operation.
The investigation began after Target’s internal investigators contacted a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office detective assigned to a federal task force. According to court documents, Wei had previously been linked to card tampering at a Jacksonville Beach Target store in 2023.
Wei admitted participating in a scheme in which fraudsters remove gift cards from store shelves, open the packaging to record bar codes, CVV numbers and activation codes, then reseal the cards and return them to the store. Investigators said Wei tampered with the cards inside his vehicle while parked at Target locations. Authorities recovered 180 compromised gift cards, either from store shelves or in Wei’s possession.
Once a legitimate customer purchases and activates one of the altered cards, the fraudsters receive an electronic alert and quickly drain the balance online before the buyer can use it.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, approximately 41,000 gift card fraud reports are filed nationwide each year, with losses totaling $212 million in 2024, the most recent annual data available.
Wei is presumed innocent until conviction, which in this case was established by his guilty plea.
