SAN JOSE – An East Coast man has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a scheme to buy Target gift cards, sell the codes and return the cards for a full refund, ultimately netting the retailer more than $500,000, according to authorities .
The sentence, handed down by a U.S. District Judge in San Jose, comes about six months after Michael O’Brien Jr., 32, of Worcester, Mass., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud. fraud.
O’Brien, the ringleader, carried out the scheme with others from May 22, 2018, to approximately October 23, 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release Wednesday. At least $508,000 was stolen from Target Corp. stores in California and 35 other states.
In his plea deal, O’Brien admitted the target was $1,077,100, according to authorities.
A grand jury indicted O’Brien on August 3, 2023.
In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Beth Labson Freeman ordered O’Brien to serve three years of supervised release and make restitution to the dealer, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.