Her former boss got two years in prison for her role in running a multi-million dollar counterfeit coupon ring in Phoenix. So it was presumed that, as a mere employee, Amiko Fountain’s sentence would be somewhat less severe. And it was. 43-year-old Fountain was sentenced today to three years probation, on a single count of counterfeiting. She had already served[Read More…]
Hundreds of companies victimized. Thousands of customers scammed. Tens of millions of dollars raked in. And two years in prison. That’s fair, right? That was the sentence handed down today to 41-year-old Robin Ramirez, the ringleader of a counterfeit coupon operation that was busted in Phoenix last summer. Ramirez pleaded guilty in February to charges of counterfeiting, fraud and illegal[Read More…]
If you’ve ever been frustrated that a Walmart cashier wouldn’t take your coupons for whatever reason, consider the case of Eileen Zimmerman of Homer City, Pennsylvania. Authorities say she managed to get Walmart to accept more than a quarter million dollars worth of coupons. Only problem is, she worked at Walmart. And she was in charge of submitting the store’s[Read More…]
If you’re facing criminal charges for using tens of thousands of dollars worth of counterfeit coupons, perhaps it’s not a great idea to threaten to kill the person who turned you in. That’s what authorities in Pennsylvania allege that 29-year-old Samir Muhana did. The Philadelphia man was arrested in February and charged with using counterfeit coupons to buy mass quantities[Read More…]
Tens of millions of dollars worth of counterfeit coupons are out of circulation, and now, so is the woman charged with running the whole operation. 41-year-old Robin Ramirez, who was set to stand trial for operating a multi-million dollar counterfeit coupon ring in Phoenix, has changed her pleas to guilty, on charges of counterfeiting, fraud and illegal control of an[Read More…]
Not every counterfeit coupon case makes national headlines, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of them. For every big counterfeiting conviction and every multi-million dollar operation thwarted, there are untold numbers of lesser cases – and they all add up. Just this past week, three coupon counterfeiting cases came to light, all of them involving baby formula. First, police[Read More…]
Creating and sharing your very own counterfeit coupons is easy! As long as you don’t mind getting in trouble with the law for doing it. Convicted coupon counterfeiter Lucas Henderson was sentenced today in Manhattan Federal Court to time served, three years of supervised release and $900,000 in restitution. The restitution is to be paid to the Coupon Information Corporation,[Read More…]
Everyone else does year-end Top 10 lists at this time of year, so how about a look at the top coupon stories of 2012? We’ll even throw in an extra and make it a Top 11 list. Even though Coupons in the News has only been around since July, a look at the most popular posts these past six months[Read More…]
Two down, one to go. A second suspect in the massive counterfeit coupon ring that was busted in Phoenix this summer, has changed her plea to guilty. During a court hearing today, 42-year-old Amiko Fountain pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of counterfeiting. Additional charges of forgery and fraud will be dropped. The plea agreement matches that of co-defendant Marilyn[Read More…]
There’s a new twist to the increasing (or increasingly-reported) trend of stealing newspapers to get at the coupons inside. A case in Ohio appears to have been something of an inside job. 45-year-old Paul Donohew of Gallipolis Ferry, West Virginia was arrested earlier this week on the other side of the Ohio River in Gallipolis, Ohio. Acting on a tip,[Read More…]
