WMT - Walmart's Financial Services Embroiled In Frauds Costing Consumers Billions Of Dollars: Report | Benzinga
An in-depth investigation by ProPublica says that Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is a significant enabler in a vast fraud network involving gift cards and money laundering.
One notable case involved Christy Browne, a retired teacher from New York, who was tricked into buying $2,000 in Walmart gift cards in February 2020.
She was led to believe she was aiding an FBI investigation into money laundering. The outlet reported that these cards were, in fact, funneled into a complex laundering scheme orchestrated by Qinbin Chen, a Chinese national based in Virginia.
Chen's operation, responsible for laundering approximately $7 million in fraudulently obtained gift cards, spanned across the U.S. and China, victimizing hundreds.
This scheme, dubbed "The Walmart scheme," underscores Walmart's history as a hotspot for fraud. Despite commitments to regulators and enforcement efforts, Walmart has been a channel for over $1 billion in fraud losses from 2013 to 2022, per the Federal Trade Commission ...