PEACHTREE CITY, GA - Police arrested a man after claiming he exploited a digital coupon glitch to steal more than $200,000 from grocery stores across the country.
Peachtree City police say Malcolm Griffin used a digital coupon on his phone intended for 75 cents off Summer's Eve feminine products. When cashiers scanned the barcode at a Peachtree City Kroger, the store computer gave him $50 off any item, which he used to buy Visa gift cards, FOX5 reported.
Investigators were able to identify Griffin and later arrested him at his home in Clayton County. He has been charged with seven counts of forgery, one count of computer crimes, and five counts of ID fraud.
Police also arrested his girlfriend at the time, Syan East, after surveillance video showed her at the store acting as his driver. Griffin remains in custody in the Fayette County Jail.
According to police, Griffin targeted retailers on a daily basis in the metro Atlanta area. Homeland Security officials contacted local investigators to advise that Griffin was wanted for similar incidents in states stretching from Oregon to Maryland. Other law enforcement agencies, including federal investigators, maintain an active interest in the case.
In Newark, New Jersey, a woman from Texas was sentenced on September 9 to 15 months in federal prison for her role in a counterfeit coupon scheme that caused more than $17 million in losses to retailers and manufacturers across the country, WRNJ radio reported.
The woman, identified as 49-year-old Janet Bernal of San Antonio, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William Martini. The woman previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Court documents state that Bernal orchestrated a scheme from June 2020 through August 2024 to produce and sell counterfeit coupons that purchasers could use at retail stores throughout the country, including large pharmacies and grocery stores. Prosecutors said Bernal offered the counterfeit coupons through a monthly fee-based subscription group on a commonly used internet cloud-based messaging app.
Members paid a monthly fee and received unlimited access to numerous types of counterfeit coupons Bernal posted for download. Members paid the subscription fees through mobile cash accounts directly controlled by Bernal.
Over the course of the scheme, members downloaded thousands of counterfeit coupons and redeemed them at retail stores throughout New Jersey and elsewhere in the United States. The scheme resulted in more than $17 million in losses to retail stores and manufacturers whose products were purchased using the counterfeit coupons.
In addition to the 15-month sentence, Martini sentenced Bernal to two years of supervised release and ordered her to forfeit $67,290.68. She was also ordered to pay $17,865,614.70 in restitution.
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