Feds: California Gal Admits Running $9.9 Million Counterfeit Coupon Scam

A California woman admitted in federal court in New Jersey that she created and sold more than $9.9 million worth of counterfeit coupons used at retail stores throughout the country.Using the name “Mandy Carr,” Tong Lor printed Carolina coupons with fake bar codes for household items such as diapers, laundry detergent, and toiletries and then mailed them to customers nationwide, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.

Catalina coupons
Photo Credit: *Eloisa Munoz*

Jerry DeMarco

05/19/2021 5:21 p.m.

Lor, 34, of Modesto sold the counterfeit coupons via invitation-only Internet groups associated with her businesses: Mandy’s Treasure Box, Mandy's Knitting Club, and Mandy’s Treasure Chest, Sellinger said.

Customers selected their coupons from an order form, the U.S. attorney said.

“Lor then falsely coded and printed the counterfeit coupons and mailed them to the purchasers” almost exclusively through the U.S. Postal Service, he said.

Over a span of 2½ years, records show, Lor mailed more than 13,000 coupon parcels through the postal service.

Tor took a deal from the government rather than face trial, pleading guilty in a video conference with a federal judge in Newark to conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

Sellinger credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark with the investigation leading to the arrest and plea, secured by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Blake Coppotelli and Heather Suchorsky of his Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

U.S. District Judge Esther Salas scheduled sentencing for Aug. 16, 2022.

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