Accused IRS Scammer in Minnesota Faces Federal Indictment
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A man accused of posing as an Internal Revenue Service representative and tricking people into buying Target gift cards to pay of phony tax debts is facing federal charges in Minnesota.
A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in St. Paul accuses 27-year-old Yu Zhang of visiting at least 10 Target stores a day in the Twin Cities to redeem about $224,000 in gift cards beginning May 31.
The Star Tribune says Zhang is in federal custody in the Sherburne County jail on wire fraud charges. Zhang's attorney declined to comment on the charges.
The complaint says investigators found Zhang had pulled off more than 100 similar gift card transactions over a nine-day stretch, visiting 10 to 15 stores a day.