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…]
One of three women charged in a massive coupon fraud ring has changed her plea to guilty – admitting her role in the multi-million dollar counterfeit coupon operation. 54-year-old Marilyn Johnson pleaded guilty in a Phoenix courtroom today to a reduced charge of counterfeiting, changing her original not guilty plea on charges of counterfeiting, forgery and fraud. Johnson was arrested[Read More…]
Counterfeit coupons have become so widespread, even the remote reaches of Alaska are not immune. And it only takes a handful of them, to cause some big trouble in a small town. Located about 90 miles from the capital of Juneau, the town of Sitka, Alaska sits on an island that’s only accessible by boat or plane. Sitka has just[Read More…]
Actress Kristen Bell may be worth millions, but she just can’t pass up a good deal on duvets. Sadly, that could land her in the slammer, and put her favorite store out of business in the process. Ok, so that might be overstating it a little. But during a visit to “Conan” recently (see clip above), Bell confessed to Conan[Read More…]
In theory, if you collect tens of thousands of coupons and turn them in for cash, you can earn a few bucks (since they’re each technically worth “1/100th of a cent”). But why mess with that when you can turn them all in for face value and rake in tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars? And if you’re the[Read More…]
