An Anaheim man pleaded guilty Thursday to producing and selling tens of thousands of fake Kohl's coupons in a months-long scheme that netted him about $93,000, federal officials said.
Boi Quoc Vo, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in counterfeit documentation under a plea agreement, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials announced. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and fines of as much as $250,000, or twice the gain or loss from the ruse, whichever amount is greater.
“It’s common to encounter intellectual property cases related to phony products, but this is the first time we’ve come across a scheme locally involving counterfeit store coupons,” Claude Arnold, special agent in charge for ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division in Los Angeles, said in a statement.
Vo is scheduled to be sentenced March 3, 2014.
In the plea agreement, Vo admitted he obtained electronic coupons the department store gave customers who signed up for its "email marketing service," then used editing software to "remove or change certain security features" intended to prevent duplication or repeated use of the discounts.