2 women accused of stealing $27,000 of items from Stop & Shop stores with counterfeit coupons
TAUNTON - There is extreme couponing and then there's this. An alleged counterfeit coupon ring raking in nearly $27,000 in goods has resulted in charges for two women from Taunton.
The Plymouth County District Attorney's office said 41-year-old Jacqueline White and 40-year-old Crystal Travis, ran a months-long ring of buying and making fake coupons that worked in Stop & Shop stores.
The indictment alleges from March to June of 2023, White and Travis entered more than a dozen grocery stores and used fraudulent coupons to purchase household items such as hand soap, laundry detergent, toothbrushes, and more. The Plymouth District Attorney's office said the pair would then use the goods they purchased and sell them online for profit. They often sold the goods on social media sites like Facebook, per the indictment.
The corrupt couponing duo hit Stop & Shops in Quincy, Weymouth, Raynham, Plainville, Whitman, Abington, Pembroke, Norwell, Hingham, North Dartmouth, New Bedford, Sandwich, Brockton, East Providence, R.I. and Pawtucket, R.I.
In one shopping trip, the indictment alleges the women purchased 366 items for a total of $1,658.28. The pair then used coupons to reduce the price by $1,655, shrinking the amount owed to Stop and Shop down to $3.28.
These types of counterfeit couponing schemes can get complex, according to Bud Miller with the Coupon Information Corporation. The non-profit works to get rid of fraudulent operations like the one White and Travis are accused of operating. "The goal is to get as much product as you can and convert it into cash as quickly as you can," said Miller. "And of course, it is unlikely they will report these sales to their local tax boards or as part as their income tax."
White and Travis face several larceny charges as well as an offense for organized retail theft.
They are both due in Brockton Superior Court at a later date.