A couple from Virginia, who had been involved in a counterfeit coupon scheme estimated to be worth around $31.8 million, have both been sentenced to prison. The two had been handed prison sentences of 12 years and 7 years.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which helped unravel the couple's scheme, said they discovered fake coupons in "every crevice" of the pair's home in Virginia Beach. The home was owned by Lori Ann Talens and her husband, Pacifico Talens, Jr.
The FBI said the coupons they found in the couple's home had falsified savings of more than $1 million. Investigators also found designs for various coupons for more than 13,000 products on one of the computers inside the house.
FBI Special Agent Shannon Brill said the couple had been running the scam for around three years and they had become experts at manipulating barcodes and circumventing security features used in coupons. Brill said the woman was the mastermind of the scheme, which involved the printing of fake coupons for various companies and products.
According to an FBI press release, Talens did not use the fake coupons herself to avoid detection. She, reportedly, sold the fake coupons to people she found on the internet, namely subscribers of her accounts on social media. Talens then used an encrypted messaging app to conduct her transactions. To avoid being traced, Talens also used cryptocurrencies in her transactions.
The Coupon Information Corporation, a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting coupon and discount fraud, first discovered the scheme. The organization, reportedly, received a tip that someone was creating and distributing fake coupons in Virginia. A group of manufacturers also, reportedly, lost around $125,000 linked to the fake coupons sold by Talens and her husband.
Talens was sentenced to 12 years in prison for "perpetrating a counterfeit coupon fraud scheme." The Department of Justice estimated that the couple's scheme had cost retailers and manufacturers around $32 million in losses. Talen's husband was sentenced to 7 years in prison for his involvement and for profiting off the scheme that her wife was running.
Investigators said the couple had used the money they had gained from the scheme to fund high-end home renovations, including installing a new pool and remodeling their kitchen.
