John Douglas, Wire Fraud and Mail Fraud, Massachusetts 2017

BOSTON – A Georgia couple, John Douglas, 46, of Alpharetta, Georgia, and his wife Analyn Douglass, 41, have admitted to their involvement in a scheme to defraud Framingham-based Staples, Inc. of more than $1.4 million.

John Douglas pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, while Analyn Douglass entered a deferred prosecution agreement, admitting to her involvement in the conspiracy to ship stolen Staples goods in interstate commerce. If Analyn Douglass abides by the terms of her agreement with the government, the charge against her will be dismissed after one year.

The Douglases and others engaged in a complex scheme to defraud Staples of more than $1.4 million worth of customer loyalty rewards and product rebates. John Douglas and one of his associates created more than 1,100 Staples rewards accounts, often using fictitious names, addresses, and contact information.

He then created a computer script to query a Staples website and seek unclaimed customer loyalty rewards for purchases that he did not make. The computer script made thousands of queries a day, amassing more than $889,000 worth of rewards in small increments, often less than a dollar at a time.

The Douglases and others then used the rewards like cash to buy merchandise at Staples retail locations throughout the southern United States and along the eastern seaboard, as far north as Massachusetts. Analyn Douglass sold much of the fraudulently obtained Staples merchandise on eBay.

Additionally, the Douglases used a similar method to claim more than $527,000 in cash rebates from Staples for products that they did not purchase.

Staples, who has cooperated with the government, discovered the fraud and referred the matter for investigation. A sentencing hearing for John Douglas has been scheduled for April 26, 2017, and he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.

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