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Coupon Kingpin Gets 41 Months for $1M Counterfeit Coupon Scheme
A New Orleans man has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in a coupon counterfeit ring using the Silk Road online marketplace.
Beau Wattigney, 30, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle of the Eastern District of Louisiana after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit trademark counterfeiting.
In connection with his plea, Wattigney admitted that between May 2012 and November 2014, he used the online monikers PurpleLotus, GoldenLotus and CouponKing to sell counterfeit coupons for various goods and services on the Silk Road.
The counterfeit coupons were designed to look like original print-at-home manufacturers’ coupons by using the companies’ trademarks, according to the plea agreement.
Wattigney admitted that he created and manufactured the fraudulent coupons with the assistance of several co-conspirators and sold over $1 million worth of counterfeit coupons, victimizing more than 50 United States-based businesses.
The FBI’s Philadelphia Division investigated the case, with assistance from the FBI’s New Orleans Field Office. Senior Counsel Marie-Flore Johnson and Robert Wallace of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Ginsberg of the Eastern District of Louisiana prosecuted the case.
Wattigney was immediately remanded into custody after the sentencing, bringing an end to a case that highlighted the dark side of online commerce.
Key Facts
- State: Louisiana
- Category: White Collar Crime|Cybercrime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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