We’ve all heard of extreme couponing, but this is on another level!
Last month, a Virginia couple was sentenced to almost 20 years in prison for running a three-year, $31.8 million counterfeit coupon scam. Now, the FBI is sharing new details about the scheme.
According to CNN, authorities stated that In a press release last week, investigators discovered fake coupons in “every crevice” in the home that belonged to Lori Ann Talens and her husband, Pacifico Talens, Jr.
It’s also reported that the “falsified savings” had a value of more than $1 million. In addition, authorities also found designs for 13,000 products on Lori’s computer.
“She trained herself in the different techniques she needed to manipulate barcodes to make these coupons work,” said Special Agent Shannon Brill in the FBI release. Talens, who is considered the mastermind of the scheme, would create fake coupons with discounts “near or even over” an item’s retail value.
According to the details, the Coupon Information Corporation received a tip that fake coupons were created and mailed. It is also reported that a group of manufacturers “lost $125,000 from fake coupons linked to Talens.”
Talens received a 12-year prison sentence for “perpetrating a counterfeit coupon fraud scheme” that caused retailers and manufactures to lose $32 million in revenue.
Her husband was also sentenced. He received 7 years for knowing about the scheme and profiting from it.
Roomies, what do you think about this version of extreme couponing?