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| Photo credit: Facebook |
Lubbock native Lucas Henderson pled guilty in a New York court to committing wire fraud and trafficking in counterfeit goods while he was a student at Rochester Institute of Technology.
The plea agreement could earn Henderson up to three years in federal jail as a result.
Henderson was arrested in May 2011 for not only creating and distributing fake coupons, but for also posting a 45-page online tutorial teaching others how to design and print fake coupons.
Henderson also warned his readers not to post his tutorial elsewhere on the web, since posting the fake coupon tutorial in visible locations “makes it much easier for companies and moral assholes to come across them and warn stores about them.”
The Huffington Post estimates that companies lost hundreds of thousands of dollars due to Henderson's illegal activities. In fact, a fake Tide coupon he made and circulated cost Proctor & Gamble alone $200,000.
This is the second time in less than a month that coupon scammers have made national news headlines. Back in July 2012, Phoenix cops broke up a $25 million coupon fraud ring that was also involved in distributing fake coupons.
Coupon fraud is a primary reason grocery stores and other retailers periodically attempt to crack down on the use of printable coupons, creating headaches for cashiers, managers, and customers as they attempt to navigate through rapid-fire changes to store policies.
Do you think Lucas Henderson will receive a strong enough punishment for his coupon scamming? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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