MASHPEE, Massachusetts – The CIC® Suspect Coupon Checker App played a significant role in charges1 being filed against Scott Lawrence of New Bedford, Massachusetts, who is suspected of passing counterfeit coupons at a local store. Store employees used the CIC® Suspect Coupon Checker App to verify that coupons allegedly used by Lawrence were counterfeit. CIC’s [...]
Counterfeit coupons and spikes in organized retail theft diminished many retailers’ bottom lines and caused some to feel isolated and under siege last year. Headline stories and Hollywood movies about coupon fraud added fuel to the fire. The Coupon Information Corporation (CIC®) is here to help. Retailers should not be victims of unscrupulous coupon counterfeiters. [...]
Download Press Release NORFOLK, Virginia – Lori Ann Talens, the leader of the “MasterChef” counterfeit coupon conspiracy, was sentenced today to 12 years incarceration, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay more than $31 million in restitution. This lengthy sentence will be served concurrently with her sentences for other federal offenses, including Medicaid [...]
NORFOLK, Virginia – Lori Ann Talens and Pacifico Talens pled guilty to felony charges in a counterfeit coupon scam that stole more than $31 million from consumer product manufacturers and retailers. The pair used the name “Master Chef” and other designations on multiple social media platforms to conspire with others to create and distribute counterfeit [...]
NAPLES, Florida – The Coupon Information Corporation (CIC) announced today that it has begun providing retailers, law enforcement representatives and CIC Members a new App to instantly identify counterfeit coupons. The App, known as the CIC® Suspect Coupon Checker, will be provided free of charge.<?p> “This incredibly powerful tool is easy to use and will [...]
Sacramento, California - The California Highway Patrol (CHP), Golden Gate Division, Organized Retail Crime Task Force, arrested Karen “KayCee” Guzman, Terry Hubbard, and James Miranda today for allegedly participating in a conspiracy to use more than $200,000 in counterfeit coupons at a local CVS store1. Search warrants were also served at the suspect’s house and [...]