(KFSM) A Chinese National student was arrested for theft by deception for his involvement in a nationwide multi-million dollar Walmart gift card scam.
On Nov. 4, 2019, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office – Criminal Investigations Division was contacted by a Walmart Global Investigator about an on-going theft investigation involving a variety of phone and internet scams.
Walmart Global Investigators had been surveilling a person of interest, 23-year-old Songhua Liu, for the last several hours as he traveled through the state of Arkansas.
Based on the suspect’s pattern of activity, investigators believed Liu would be in possession/control of fraudulently obtained gift card numbers at a Walmart store in Benton County.
It was believed Liu was involved in a scam designed to convince, coerce, trick, or otherwise prompt a victim to buy Walmart gift cards.
Victims are lured into the scheme by either responding to a text message, responding to an email, or searching for a particular type of financial service online, inputting basic info (name, phone), where a scammer will contact them, presumably from a fraudulent website.
Liu was just one runner in the scheme, leading investigators to believe he is part of a multi-million-dollar fraud scam.
He will face federal prosecution for his involvement in the fraud scheme.
Liu is a Chinese National in the United States on a student visa.
