Four women connected to a $31 million counterfeit coupon scheme were sentenced in Norfolk Federal Court.
Amber Teague received 6 months, Cindi Swindle received 12 months, Jennifer Snyder received 15 months, and Melissa Apodaca received 18 months.
A fifth defendant, Sherise Williams, is still waiting to be sentenced.
Watch our True Crime 757 podcast about Lori Talens' coupon scheme
The judge allowed all four to serve their sentences in low-security prisons in their home states.
The women were the top buyers in an illegal coupon operation led by Lori Ann Talens and her husband Pacifico, who designed fake coupons and sold them on the internet from their Virginia Beach home.
Lori Ann Talens is serving a 12-year sentence. Pacifico Talens is serving 7 years. The scheme is considered one of the largest coupon fraud operations ever discovered.
Watch previous coverage: Women plead guilty in counterfeit coupon scheme
The case first came to light in 2021.
Bud Miller, Executive Director of the Coupon Information Corporation, was integral to the investigation.
"There's a misconception out there, on the dark side, as they call it, that only the big fish are being prosecuted. Now, you can be a customer and not the actual head person of a criminal organization and be prosecuted," Miller said.
Miller explained how the scheme typically worked.
"Generally, how these things work is that people will purchase counterfeit coupons, they generally know that they're counterfeit coupons, and they'll buy a large number of them. Then they will use the counterfeits to steal products and then, frequently, they will resell those products and that's how they make their money at that point," Miller said.
Miller said those losses have a broad impact.
"The losses are devastating both for the retailers and the manufacturers, so they have to raise their prices and sell more product just to make up for the losses," Miller said.
Miller offered a straightforward warning to consumers.
"Consumers can protect themselves almost completely by never paying money for coupons. We've said that before, but as soon as you start charging money for something that is given away for free, you bring in the criminal element at that point so never, ever pay for coupons," Miller said.
Miller said he hopes the sentences will deter others from committing similar crimes.
