LOUISIANA
A leader of a coupon counterfeiting ring plead guilty today to participating in a conspiracy to sell counterfeit coupons using the “Silk Road” online marketplace, federal officials said.
Beau Wattigney, 30, New Orleans, plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit trademark counterfeiting.
Sentencing has been scheduled for Oct. 28, officials said.
Silk Road was a hidden website through which users around the world bought and sold illegal drugs, goods and services, officials said.
In his plea agreement, Wattigney admitted the following information:
- Between May 2012 and November 2014, he used the online monikers “PurpleLotus” and “GoldenLotus” to sell counterfeit coupons for various goods and services on Silk Road 1.0.
- Wattigney also used the monikers “PurpleLotus” and “CouponKing” with the Silk Road 2.0.
- The coupons allowed purchasers to obtain significant discounts on a variety of goods and services offered by the victim companies, including Hopster, Veri-fi, SmartSource, RedPlum and Visa. For example, Wattigney sold a counterfeit coupon that allowed users to purchase $50.00 Visa Gift Cards for a cent.
- Wattigney admitted that he created and manufactured the fraudulent coupons with the assistance of several co-conspirators, and that they designed the coupons to look like original print-at-home manufacturers’ coupons by using the companies’ trademarks.
- He also admitted that the scheme affected more than 50 U.S.-based businesses, and caused more than one million dollars in intended losses.
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