Store Gift Card Fraud Leads to 3 Years in Prison

ST. LOUIS - A man who victimized a nationwide retailer by stealing tens of thousands of dollars' worth of gift cards was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp also ordered Rashad Niles Shahid, 27, to repay $88,269 to the store.

Shahid pleaded guilty in April to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. He admitted using the employee identification number of various store employees in a scheme to add value to store gift cards. He traveled to the area with others from his home in Michigan to execute the scheme. He targeted stores in Maplewood, Manchester, Florissant, and Shrewsbury, Missouri before he was arrested by the Manchester Police Department.

The U.S. Secret Service, the Manchester Police Department, the Maplewood Police Department, the Shrewsbury Police Department and the Florissant Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Roy prosecuted the case.