A Nevada woman has been charged with creating and selling more than $20 million worth of counterfeit Catalina coupons, with the help of specialized equipment and a large social media following.
A federal indictment of Serena Hedden of Las Vegas was unsealed this week, in which a grand jury laid out the case against her.
During at least a two-year period from August 2017 to September 2019, Hedden allegedly designed and printed counterfeit Catalina coupons at her home “with inflated values, far in excess of what an authentic coupon would offer.” She’s accused of offering the coupons for sale on social media and using at least some of them for herself as well.
Once law enforcement became aware of the scheme, they investigated and were able to determine the seller’s alleged identity. They conducted a search of Hedden’s home in 2019 and “recovered, among other things, a large quantity of counterfeit coupons; electronic equipment used to manufacture counterfeit coupons; large quantities of specialized paper used to print counterfeit coupons; and specialized printers needed to print bar codes on that specialized paper.”
In all, investigators identified more than 3,000 unique coupon designs, and determined that the fake coupons were used across the country to defraud retailers and manufacturers out of more than $20 million.
The indictment offers few additional details, but Hedden’s address and other personal information matches that of “catalina4u,” a social media account known to have offered counterfeit Catalina coupons for sale during the time period specified in the indictment.
“Fill out form, make payment, receive shipping within 48 hours,” prospective buyers in a membership-only Instagram group were told, with payments accepted via “Google Wallet or bitcoin” only.
Catalina coupons that print at the checkout often offer discounts on specific products, or they sometimes offer dollars off your next purchase at that store. The catalina4u account offered counterfeit Catalina coupons customized with the names of retailers including Meijer, Safeway, Kroger, Giant, Walgreens, Price Chopper and many more, offering anywhere from $5 to an eye-popping $25 off a single in-store purchase.
One Instagram post even offered custom-made bar codes to other coupon counterfeiters, for them to use on their own creations. “Any bar code you want made to order, exclusively yours… $30 each with 3 month expiration date.”
Left unexplained in the indictment is the five-year gap between the execution of the search warrant on Hedden’s home, and her arrest. Hedden was taken into custody and made her first court appearance on Wednesday, during which she entered a not guilty plea to a charge of mail fraud, for allegedly using the U.S. Postal Service to profit from the sale of counterfeit items. If convicted, she faces a potential sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison.
In the meantime, she’s been released from custody and is due back in court in February. More than five years after her alleged counterfeit coupon business was shut down, her former customers have long since moved on. But as she prepares to defend herself against these accusations, Hedden won’t be able to move on quite so easily.
