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 coupons, bringing to an end an operation police say cost businesses across the country up to $600 million.
Some of those counterfeit coupons made it to our area and it turns out a local woman was a voracious user who said she saved thousands, thought she was on the up and up but now fears she, too, could be in big trouble. She’s so scared, she doesn’t want to be identified for fear she might be prosecuted. We’ll call her Marsha.
Marsha used SavvyShopperSite.com to pay, for example, a dollar for a free pizza coupon, a pizza that’s actually worth $7. The deals were so great and the couponing got so intense, the woman started to give away food and other items because she had so much stuff.
Her most recent transaction with Ramirez: a $600 total she split with friends. But now that Ramirez is behind bars, the woman knows she’ll likely never see her $600 again. She fears she, too, could be in big legal trouble just for using coupons.
The TLC show “Extreme Couponing” makes saving money look so fun but Marsha said the scheme she got caught up in wasn’t like the show. It was better. “We were ordering hundreds of dollars in coupons every month,” she said. “Sometimes I would come out with three carts of groceries.”
Marsha is a mother of four who lost her job nearly a year ago and said SavvyShopperSite.com was her saving grace. “I didn’t do anything I thought was wrong,” she said. “I didn’t think there was any way I could get into trouble.”
In hindsight, Marsha said the warning signs were there. She was paying for the coupons and the alleged ringleader warned her customers not to do foolish things that could have long-lasting effects on the community. But Marsha was addicted to putting hundreds of dollars of stuff in her cart and walking out spending in one case, just 65 cents. How was that possible? The coupons were so slick, so well done, she said Walmart managers would override their registers to give her the deals.
Read the entire story at WSPD Local 6
Previous articles about the Phoenix coupon counterfeiting ring:
- Police, other officials involved in coupon counterfeit case: ‘Operation Super Coupon’
- Arizona TV news reports regarding enormous counterfeit coupon bust
- SavvyShopperSite.com: Coupon counterfeiters arrested; sold free-product coupons online and on Ebay
- More details emerge about Phoenix coupon counterfeiting operation
- Phoenix coupon counterfeiters: For an extra $3, you can have a hologram on your coupon!
- Woman says she “saved hundreds” with counterfeit coupons
- Photo galleries of seized counterfeit coupons
- Photos of Phoenix counterfeit coupon bust
- Coupon counterfeiters’ families: “They’re innocent.”
- Full video of Phoenix counterfeit coupon bust press conference
Mom with a coupon says
She’d never been to/seen a DVD class by our beloved Jill C., Who warns of such ridiculousness as paying for coupons. And even if she hadn’t, what’s with the blinders? If it seems too good to be true, isn’t it usually?
rintjm says
Honestly she would’ve been just as well off financially (or better) finding a legit coupon blog. If she was spending $600 for deals like that then she was only doing as well as us law abiding couponers do on a good week. This is another one of those cases where I wonder what the point of breaking the law is. For a little bit more effort you could’ve gotten to the same place legally.
VJB says
We all know why manufacturers release coupons and it is not to continuously give away free items. Coupons are a marketing tool to get as many people as they can to try products and hopefully get them to love the product.
In a day where there are so many restrictions on coupons and decrease in value why would people believe that manufacturers would give a website countless free coupons to put up for sale. It just boggles the mind that they refused to see the signs.
As for the woman in the article, if you had so much product that you had to give stuff away, why continue to buy $600 worth of fake coupons for items you dont need?
If you ask me, I think she was profiting by selling the items she purchased. I know there are people who love to give to those who are in need but considering she had lost her job and she had a large family she was probably one of those in need and would assume that she could not afford to give away products when she would spend so much on buying the coupons. She is just as guilty and likely profiting.
They should look at all of the “voracious” buyers and they will probably find that they were reselling the coupons or the products for profit.