Chinese National Charged with Illegally Possessing Counterfeit Gift Cards

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.  – A federal grand jury in Birmingham has charged a Chinese national with possessing counterfeit gift cards, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona.  

A one-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges Xiebin Xue, 40, with possession of fifteen or more counterfeit or unauthorized access devices.

According to the indictment, on January 10, 2024, Xue was found in possession of at least 33 gift cards that had been re-encoded with card numbers different from the card numbers printed on the cards and at least two gift cards that bore fake bar code labels that did not match the printed and encoded numbers on the cards.

The United States Secret Service investigated the case along with the Tuscaloosa Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Brett A. Janich is prosecuting the case.

The maximum penalty for the charged offense is 10 years imprisonment.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.