California man pleads no contest in tampered gift card scheme at Oakland County Meijer stores
Sinjuan Song, 31, of Alhambra, California, pleaded no contest in Oakland County Circuit Court to conducting a criminal enterprise. Prosecutors say tampered gift cards were placed on Meijer shelves in Oakland and Wayne counties in 2025. Sentencing is Nov. 18.
By OCJ Staff
A California man has pleaded no contest to running part of a scheme that put tampered gift cards on the shelves of Meijer stores in Waterford, White Lake Township and Auburn Hills, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's office said Tuesday.
Sinjuan Song, 31, of Alhambra, California, entered the plea last week in Oakland County's 6th Circuit Court to one count of conducting a criminal enterprise, a 20-year felony, according to the attorney general's office. He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 18.
A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but it is treated as a conviction for sentencing.
How the scheme worked
Prosecutors say Song was tied to an organized retail crime group that stole unsold gift cards from stores, recorded their redemption codes, hid the tampering and put the cards back on the racks. When a shopper bought one and loaded money onto it, the money was diverted, and buyers often found the card already empty when they went to use it, according to the attorney general's office and FOX 2 Detroit.
The cards were distributed in 2025 at Meijer stores in Waterford, White Lake, Auburn Hills, Southgate, Allen Park and Taylor, the attorney general's office said. Officials have not said how much money shoppers lost.
Song was arraigned in March in the 51st District Court in Waterford, where his bond was set at $500,000 and he was ordered to surrender his passport, according to the attorney general's office.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service led the investigation with the attorney general's organized retail crime team and the Michigan State Police.
Check before you buy
Nessel urged shoppers to inspect gift cards before buying them. "Shoppers should carefully inspect gift cards they intend to purchase," she said in a statement.
Some early reports described the plea as guilty; the attorney general's office says it was no contest.
Sources: Michigan Department of Attorney General, "California Man Pleads to Conducting a Criminal Enterprise, Operating Gift Card Fraud Scheme" (Oct. 27, 2026) and charging release (March 20, 2026); FOX 2 Detroit, "California man pleads guilty to Meijer gift card scam" (Oct. 27, 2026, 4:04 p.m.).