Modesto woman admits to mail fraud in $9.9 million fake coupon scheme
A Modesto woman pleaded guilty Thursday to a mail fraud charge for creating and selling more than $9.9 million worth of counterfeit coupons, the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of New Jersey announced.
According to court documents, 34-year-old Tong Lor, who also goes by Mandy Carr, was involved in a large-scale operation to sell coupons between 2017 and May 2021 and send them to buyers via the U.S. Postal Service.
The coupons resembled ones from Catalina machines, which print out small, full-color, rectangular pieces of paper and can often be found at a store’s registers. A wide variety of manufacturers and retailers across the country participate in this system, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Lor would create invite-only groups through the instant messenger service Telegram and sell counterfeit coupons to customers in the group. A previous release about her arrest said she had businesses called Mandy’s Treasure Box, Mandy’s Knitting Club and Mandy’s Treasure Chest related to the scheme.
Purchasers in the group would have access to an order form for counterfeit coupons that had prices and volume designations listed. These buyers knew the coupons were fake, according to court documents.
After the sales were complete, Lor printed coupons using a Catalina machine with special Catalina paper and ink, all of which she obtained without authorization, according to court documents. She then mailed more than 13,000 parcels of coupons to customers all over the United States, who would intend to use them on discounts for items such as diapers, laundry detergent and toiletries.
Lor appeared in court via Zoom on Thursday, but the release did not say why. Her sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 16.
She faces a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss from the offense.
This story was originally published March 3, 2022 at 5:08 PM.
