‘Extreme Couponers’ In Virginia Sent To Prison In $31.8 Million Fraud Scheme

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By Jordan Valinsky, CNN BusinessOctober 25, 2021 astatine 7:15 pm

(CNN) — The FBI is revealing caller details astir a $31.8 cardinal counterfeit coupon strategy that landed a Virginia Beach mates successful situation for astir 20 years, combined.

In a property merchandise past week, the bureau said that investigators recovered fake coupons successful “every crevice” of the location belonging to Lori Ann Talens and her husband, Pacifico Talens, Jr.. The falsified savings were worthy much than $1 million. They besides recovered designs for coupons for much than 13,000 products connected Lori Ann Talens’ computer.

“She trained herself successful the antithetic techniques she needed to manipulate barcodes to marque these coupons work,” said Special Agent Shannon Brill successful the FBI release. Talens, who is considered the mastermind of the scheme, would make fake coupons with discounts “near oregon adjacent over” an item’s retail value.

Talens didn’t usage the fraudulent coupons for herself. The FBI said she sold them to subscribers that recovered her connected societal media and communicated with them utilizing an encrypted messaging app. Talens was paid much than $400,000 successful integer currencies specified arsenic bitcoin and sometimes “exchanged coupons for stolen rolls of the peculiar insubstantial stores usage to people retired coupons,” the bureau said.

The three-year strategy was discovered by the Coupon Information Corporation, which received a extremity that idiosyncratic was making and mailing fraudulent coupons. One radical of manufacturers said it mislaid $125,000 from fake coupons linked to Talens.

In September, Talens was sentenced to 12 years successful situation for “perpetrating a counterfeit coupon fraud scheme” that amounted to $32 cardinal successful losses for retailers and manufacturers, according to the Department of Justice. Her hubby was sentenced to 7 years successful situation due to the fact that helium was alert of and profited from the scheme.

The mates was accused of utilizing the wealth for high-end location renovations, including gathering a caller excavation and remodeling their kitchen. Talens said successful a connection obtained by the New York Times that she was “deeply ashamed and embarrassed” by her actions.

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