Authorities in Florida arrested Michael Pollara and his 70-year-old mother Margaret this week, on charges of stealing more than $2 million in merchandise from 139 Toys R Us stores over the past several months.
The Pollaras had a fairly simple scam going -- they would walk into a Toys R Us store hunting for less-expensive toys that came in big boxes. They would hide pricey toys in those big boxes, dump the original toys somewhere in the store, and waltz out after paying the lower sticker price.
The expensive toys would then be sold on eBay, allegedly earning the Pollaras over $900,000 in income.
However, Michael Pollara made one fatal mistake -- he was evidently using his Toys R Us Rewards card for each purchase, so the authorities could track his buying patterns and which stores he had visited.
You'd think that stealing $2 million in toys would be enough profit for this dude, but apparently he also needed the bounceback rewards and additional discounts that Toys R Us offers through the free Rewards card!
Whenever I hear about these sorts of shoplifting and coupon fraud cases, it makes me absolutely crazy, since I know perfectly well that you can score all sorts of great deals at Toys R Us through couponing -- and you won't be committing major felonies in the process.
For example, you can get $5 worth of free toys or school supplies this week just by using the current $5 off $5 Toys R Us coupon that's available!
You can read more about how the Pollara family was caught in their national shoplifting spree here.
Read about more crazy shoplifting and coupon fraud cases here.
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