The tale of a mother on bed rest with graphic design skills that led to the biggest coupon scam in U.S. history is told in an all-new episode of ABC News’ The Con.
What’s Happening:
- In 2016, a young mom and entrepreneur in Virginia Beach took to couponing while on bed rest after having her third child. Lori Ann Talens began using coupons to maintain the household budget but soon found the rush of scoring deals to be addictive. Using her graphic design skills, she created new coupons to score free meals, household supplies and money. Talens started a counterfeit ring that grew bigger over time with carefully vetted members, one of which would ultimately be her downfall, alerting an industry watchdog of the fraud. The Coupon Information Corporation monitored the group, which led to an FBI stakeout, trash pulls, pole cameras and finally, a house raid. Police discovered coupons stuffed into every nook and cranny of the house. Talens was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison, and prosecutors estimated the loss for retailers at $31.8 million making this the biggest coupon scam in U.S. history.
- “The Coupon Con,” a new episode of The Con, airs Thursday, August 25th (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC and next day on demand and on Hulu.
- The ABC News Studios primetime series is narrated by Emmy, GRAMMY, Tony and Oscar winner and moderator of The View, Whoopi Goldberg, with weekly appearances by podcaster Laci Mosely (Scam Goddess) as a featured expert.
- For the series, David Sloan is senior executive producer, and Carrie Cook serves as executive producer for ABC News. Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman are executive producers for The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC), a part of Sony Pictures Television, along with executive producer and showrunner John Henshaw.
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