Virginia Beach woman gets 12 years for what could be biggest coupon scheme in U.S. history

It was described in court papers as possibly the biggest counterfeit coupon scheme in history, costing about 100 retailers and manufacturers more than $31 million in losses.

And the mastermind behind it all? A Virginia Beach entrepreneur and mother of three who’d been designing and printing the highly realistic coupons from her home computer for years.

On Tuesday, Lori Ann Villanueva Talens was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Norfolk to 12 years in federal prison. Her husband, Pacifico Talens Jr., was sentenced last month to seven years and three months for his role in the scam. Both had pleaded guilty to fraud charges.

The couple, however, was allowed to remain free on bond for a few weeks while they work on arrangements for their children. Lori Ann Talens has a 17-year-old child from a previous marriage, and shares two others, ages 6 and 9, with Pacifico Talens.

Lori Ann, 41, will begin serving her sentence Oct. 13, and Pacifico, 44, on Sept. 21.

According to prosecutors, the couple ran the fraudulent business out of their home in the Glenwood area from April 2017 through May 2020. Bank records indicated they made close to $400,000 from it, according to court documents.

But it was Lori Ann who was the mastermind behind it all, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Kosky wrote in a position paper filed before the sentencing. Pacifico’s role was mostly related to shipping, while Lori Ann took care of most everything else.

Operating under the moniker “MasterChef,” she printed the coupons on high quality, glossy paper, and added corporate logos and product images to make them look real. She even included working barcodes that scanned as legitimate when presented at supermarkets and department stores.

The coupons were so indistinguishable from real ones that it took counterfeit coupon experts to positively confirm them as phony, Kosky wrote.

The only thing suspicious about them was the was the discount amount printed on them, the prosecutor said.