Daytona Beach, FL – One of the main players in what authorities say was a massive gift card fraud operation in Volusia County is back behind bars.
27-year-old James Holcombe was re-arrested on Tuesday, over 2 weeks after he and 22 others – including his father – were charged in Operation Plastic Paradise. He’s held on $20,000 bond at Volusia County Jail.
Volusia County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Gary Davidson says Holcombe will be charged with 1 count of dealing in stolen property because he tried to sell more stolen gift cards.
“While out on bond 6 days after his arrest, Holcombe contacted an Internet-based company to try to unload as many as 1,000 gift cards,” Davidson added. “He told the company’s sales agent that he needed to raise money for his legal fees.
Holcombe and his father made millions of dollars by buying gift cards they knew were stolen through their “Cash For Gift Cards” stores in Volusia and Flagler and re-selling them online, according to Davidson.
“[The] investigation uncovered a massive criminal enterprise involving groups of thieves who stole merchandise from major retail stores, then returned the stolen goods in exchange for gift cards that were then sold to the Holcombes’ business,” Davidson noted. “The Holcombes would pay half the face value for the fraudulently obtained gift cards and then sell them in bulk for a profit to Internet-based outlets.”
The undercover operation conducted jointly by VCSO and state law enforcement took around 7 months to complete, with most of the arrests being made on December 14th, the same day the operation went public.
Investigators seized over 10,000 stolen gift cards and discovered that many of the customers who sold those cards to the Holcombes were known criminals, according to Davidson.
Holcombe and his father both face racketeering charges in connection to Operation Plastic Paradise.
James Holcombe (mugshot courtesy VCJ)
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