Back in April, I shared the story of a coupon counterfeiter known as The Purple Lotus operating on the Dark Web. On Wednesday, The Purple Lotus pled guilty to all counts against him. He will be sentenced in October.
Jack Links fights counterfeit coupon resellers
Jack Links, manufacturer of beef jerky, is opening a federal lawsuit to identify people who sold counterfeit coupons for its products. Free-product coupons for Jack Links have been available online via Ebay sellers and other coupon resale sites for several years, but Jack Links has stated that they are counterfeits. From the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business […]
Woman enters guilty plea in Phoenix counterfeit coupon case
You may remember the enormous counterfeit coupon ring that was busted in Phoenix earlier this year. At the time of the bust, the three women involved pled “not guilty” to the charges. Last week, one of the women, Marilyn Johnson, changed her “not guilty” plea to “guilty.” Marilyn ran a spinoff site, selling counterfeit coupons […]
BeyondBogo.com releases statement on formerly-offered counterfeit coupons
Back in July, police busted an enormous counterfeit coupon ring operating out of Phoenix. This massive, multi-million dollar operation, which sold fake coupon on SavvyShopperSite.com and on Ebay was believed to be the source of many of the counterfeit coupons being sold elsewhere online and on Ebay. As additional details of the bust emerged, investigators […]
Counterfeiter “Coupon Guy” pleads guilty, faces thirty years in jail
Here’s another counterfeit coupon case that has been building since last year. A 22-year-old college student wrote an ebook called “How To Make Coupons,” which included detailed instructions on how to create barcodes that would scan and work, as well as offering advice on what kinds of coupons to make, how to design them, and […]
Women in Phoenix counterfeit coupon ring plead “Not Guilty”
Phoenix’s AZFamily.com news reports that the three women involved in the Phoenix counterfeit coupon ring have all pled “Not Guilty” in Maricopa County Superior Court this morning: Three women accused of running an international counterfeit coupon operation have pleaded not guilty. Robin Ramirez, 40, was the ringleader of the illegal enterprise, according to police. She […]
Time.com: Phoenix counterfeit coupon ring and “Extreme Couponing”
Time.com has a new story on the Phoenix counterfeit coupon ring. It mentions that TLC’s “Extreme Couponing” features shoppers regularly buying coupons from clipping services, as well as the confirmed instances of counterfeit coupons used on the show: Talk about extreme couponing! Three women in Arizona were arrested recently for selling counterfeit coupons—a lot of […]
Lead investigator talks about counterfeit coupon investigation
Sergeant David Lake of the Phoenix Police Department shares more information about the big counterfeit coupon bust in Phoenix: CBS 5 – KPHO From the video: The ring was believed to be led by 40-year-old Robin Ramirez, according to police. Ramirez and who police believe were her two helpers, Amiko Fountain, 42, and Marilyn Johnson, […]
Counterfeit coupon segments on Good Morning America and ABC World News
ABC World News and Good Morning America both had segments on the recent counterfeit coupon bust, as well as the dangers of buying coupons online. Watch the segments below: ABC World News: Good Morning America: Previous articles about the Phoenix coupon counterfeiting ring: Police, other officials involved in coupon counterfeit case: ‘Operation Super Coupon’ Arizona […]
Woman spends $600 on SavvyShopperSite.com fake coupons
Kentucky’s WPSD NBC 6 has a story about a woman who placed a $600 order from SavvyShopperSite.com just before the bust: She thought she hit a goldmine of savings but the deals came to an end. It all came crashing down when Phoenix police and the FBI raided three homes and seized $25 million in […]
Counterfeit coupon story reaches national news
ABC News has a story about the Phoenix counterfeit coupon ring today with some additional information about the case: In the past four years, manufacturers became aware that copies of their coupons were being produced. They asked for the help of private investigators and the Coupon Information Corp. to find the source of the copies. […]
Coupon counterfeiters’ families: “They’re innocent.”
Arizona’s CBS 5 has an update on the Phoenix counterfeit coupon ring: The families of two Valley women accused of helping a large-scale counterfeiting and forgery operation say they are shocked by the allegations. Arthur Johnson said his wife was arrested at their south Phoenix home where they run a small dog breeding business. He […]
Woman says she “saved hundreds” with counterfeit coupons
Phoenix’s AZFamily.com spoke with a woman who “saved hundreds” using SavvyShopperSite’s counterfeit coupons: The saying ‘If it seems too good to be true, it probably is’ didn’t stop one woman from buying fake coupons. “I feel like it was too good to be true but it was working,” said Misty from South Carolina who didn’t […]
More details emerge about Phoenix coupon counterfeiting operation
The Phoenix New Times has a new story with additional details about the coupon counterfeiting ring that was busted yesterday. One of the suspects arrested “claimed she didn’t know the operation was illegal.” From the article: The coupon scam emerged over four years ago, as high-quality counterfeit copies of authentic manufacturer coupons began to surface […]
Arizona news report regarding today’s enormous counterfeit coupon bust
It has been a very busy day in coupon news. An enormous counterfeit coupon bust took place this morning in Phoenix, with authorities breaking up a multi-million dollar counterfeit coupon fraud ring. This Phoenix news report sums up the day’s events well:
Video of Phoenix counterfeit coupon bust press conference
KPHO Phoenix CBS 5 has posted video of the full press conference detailing today’s counterfeit coupon bust in Phoenix. Representatives from Procter & Gamble, Hershey, Pepsi, and Bar-S were present when the arrests were made, and their statements were read at the press conference. Interesting tidbits from the video: Over $25 million worth of counterfeit […]