14 DAY TRIAL // A woman running a counterfeit coupon operation from Phoenix has been found guilty and sentenced to two years in jail, reports say.
According to AZ Family, Robin Ramirez will also be paying back $5 million (€3.8 million) in damages, and she is facing probation for another seven years. The 287 days she has already spent in prison will be subtracted from her sentence.
“This counterfeiting enterprise had a monumental effect on our citizens and the business world alike.
“As a result of these arrests, the Phoenix Police Department has received inquiries from citizens and law enforcement agencies across the country concerning the legality of coupons received via the internet,” Phoenix police Officer James Holmes says in a statement.
Last year, police searched the homes of 41-year-old Robin Ramirez, along with accomplices Amiko Fountain, 43, and Marilyn Johnson, 55, in the Valley area, coming across evidence in the form of fake coupons.
The coupons were acquired from outside the States and sold on their website for half their commercial value.
“The reason that is significant is, if you look at these, they are not just pieces of paper. [...] They have cash value,” Sgt. David Lake from the Phoenix Police Department said in a 2012 interview.
“I looked at 15,400 orders. […] I didn't see any onesy, twosey type orders. I saw quantity orders,” he clarified.
The multi-million dollar operation came to a halt when law enforcement raided Ramirez's home, finding coupons worth $25 million (€19 million).
“The opulence and the money was the equivalent of drug cartel-type of stuff. That's the type of money they had,” Lake said.
Johnson and Fountain have also been charged for the involvement in the scheme. They would ship out the coupons and administer the website.
“We continue to caution our citizens about how they obtain and use manufacturer's coupons; manufacturer's coupons are never sold and should never be purchased via any medium,” the Phoenix PD warns.