Retailers Scammed in $17 Million Coupon Fraud; Woman Now Facing Charges

NORTH MORRIS COUNTY, NJ – A federal grand jury in the District of New Jersey has indicted a woman from San Antonio, Texas for allegedly running a multi-year scheme to distribute fake coupons that cost retailers and manufacturers across the US over $17 million. This was announced by U.S. Attorney Alina Habba on April 16.

There is one count of plot to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud against Janet Bernal, who is 48 years old. Bernal is accused of running a plan from June 2020 to August 2024 in which she made and sold fake coupons that were accepted at many grocery stores and pharmacies across the country, including in New Jersey.

The indictment says Bernal sold access to fake coupons through a subscription group that was stored on a popular messaging platform in the cloud. People who signed up paid monthly fees that Bernal received through mobile cash apps. In exchange, they had unlimited access to thousands of digital fake coupons. This caused retailers and makers to lose a lot of money because members of the group used these to buy things at stores.

Investigators think that more than $17 million was stolen in the plan. For each count of wire fraud or conspiracy, the maximum sentence is 20 years in jail and a fine of $250,000, or twice the amount of money gained or lost by the crime.

Under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher Nielsen in Newark, the US Postal Inspection Service did the probe that led to the indictment. The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Blake Coppotelli of the Economic Crimes Unit.

Authorities stress that these are only accusations and that Bernal is thought to be innocent until proven guilty in court.

This case shows that store systems are more likely to be hacked by fake coupon schemes, which are spreading more and more through digital platforms and social media.