06/18/2026

Seven people sentenced to prison for their roles in $31M coupon fraud scheme

United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of Virginia

NORFOLK, Va. – Sherise Williams, 40, of Palmetto, Florida, was sentenced today to three years and five months in prison for mail fraud. She is the final defendant to be sentenced for a multi-million-dollar fraudulent coupon scheme.

According to court documents, from at least April 2017 through May 2020, Lori Ann Talens, of Virginia Beach, used a computer to design, create, and produce a wide variety of counterfeit coupons in her Virginia Beach home, and used social media and apps to find groups of coupon enthusiasts and sell them the counterfeit coupons. These counterfeit coupons were often created with inflated values to receive items for free or at a greatly reduced price. Lori Ann Talens’ husband, Pacifico Talens Jr., 43, assisted in and profited from the operation.

Lori Ann and Pacifico Talens pleaded guilty to mail fraud, and Lori Ann also pleaded guilty to wire fraud and health care fraud for a separate scheme. Pacifico was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison. Lori Ann was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Williams and others purchased the counterfeit coupons from Lori Ann Talens in bulk quantities. For example, Williams purchased counterfeit coupons from Lori Ann Talens on 274 occasions for a total of $19,821.34. For every dollar paid to Lori Ann Talens, her customers received an estimated $50 in counterfeit coupons, at which ratio Williams caused an estimated total loss of $991,067 to retailers and manufacturers.