I figured I'd start a thread instead of just posting in the coupon thread.
Seems very similar to the Lowe's coupon generators...
New Jersey couple plead guilty to scamming Kohl's Cash rewards program
A New Jersey couple pleaded guilty Wednesday to defrauding the Kohl's Cash rewards program of nearly $600,000 by creating a computer program to steal cash certificate numbers belonging to customers, according to court documents filed in federal court.
Pavan Gurram and Vanaja Gattupalli, who are originally from India, pleaded guilty to fraud in federal court before U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller on Wednesday. Their sentencing is set for January.
Gurram, as the mastermind of the fraud, is facing more prison time, about a decade in prison based on sentencing guidelines. But his plea agreement says if he cooperates fully, the prosecutor could recommend a sentence below the guidelines. That includes helping the government locate all the assets purchased with the stolen money including in overseas accounts, where some money was deposited.
Gurram also agreed to pay $587,526 in restitution. Gurram remains behind bars after a judge found he was flight risk.
Gattupalli is less culpable than her husband, according to documents, and prosecutors will recommend a sentence of less than a year, if she fully cooperates. She is free on bond.
Kohl's Cash is a loyalty program by the Menomonee Falls retail chain that gives customers $10 certificates when they spend $50 at the store or online. The Kohl's Cash program generates a large number of certificates. During the period of the suspected fraud, Kohl's issued about 4 million rewards cash certificates per month.
Gurram, a computer programmer, developed a program to steal legitimate Kohl's Cash certificate numbers and use them to buy merchandise, which the couple kept or sold, court records show. He also sold the stolen numbers to others, including businesses that resell gift cards.
The investigation was opened by the FBI after customers complained to Kohl's that they were not able to redeem cash rewards certificates they had received, records showed.
Gurram and Gattupalli used cash benefits from more than 7,000 customers between June 2014 and June 2015. He placed more than 1,000 orders with Kohl's buying items such as electronics, jewelry, sports memorabilia, clothing and household items. The items were used by the couple, sold to others who didn't know they were stolen, returned for store credit or sent overseas to relatives as gifts, records show.
FBI agents think the defendants seized the Kohl's Cash certificate numbers by using an automated computer process that "located, identified and provided certificate bar code and PIN numbers for rewards cash certificates in a sequential manner."
Kohl's loss prevention team tested the FBI's theory and was able to create an automated process to generate cash rewards numbers and then do a balance inquiry on the website. Using that process, the team was able to get both the certificate number and the current balance for about 3,000 Kohl's Cash certificates — in less than an hour.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/...sh-rewards-program-b99605583z1-338109101.html
Seems very similar to the Lowe's coupon generators...
New Jersey couple plead guilty to scamming Kohl's Cash rewards program
A New Jersey couple pleaded guilty Wednesday to defrauding the Kohl's Cash rewards program of nearly $600,000 by creating a computer program to steal cash certificate numbers belonging to customers, according to court documents filed in federal court.
Pavan Gurram and Vanaja Gattupalli, who are originally from India, pleaded guilty to fraud in federal court before U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller on Wednesday. Their sentencing is set for January.
Gurram, as the mastermind of the fraud, is facing more prison time, about a decade in prison based on sentencing guidelines. But his plea agreement says if he cooperates fully, the prosecutor could recommend a sentence below the guidelines. That includes helping the government locate all the assets purchased with the stolen money including in overseas accounts, where some money was deposited.
Gurram also agreed to pay $587,526 in restitution. Gurram remains behind bars after a judge found he was flight risk.
Gattupalli is less culpable than her husband, according to documents, and prosecutors will recommend a sentence of less than a year, if she fully cooperates. She is free on bond.
Kohl's Cash is a loyalty program by the Menomonee Falls retail chain that gives customers $10 certificates when they spend $50 at the store or online. The Kohl's Cash program generates a large number of certificates. During the period of the suspected fraud, Kohl's issued about 4 million rewards cash certificates per month.
Gurram, a computer programmer, developed a program to steal legitimate Kohl's Cash certificate numbers and use them to buy merchandise, which the couple kept or sold, court records show. He also sold the stolen numbers to others, including businesses that resell gift cards.
The investigation was opened by the FBI after customers complained to Kohl's that they were not able to redeem cash rewards certificates they had received, records showed.
Gurram and Gattupalli used cash benefits from more than 7,000 customers between June 2014 and June 2015. He placed more than 1,000 orders with Kohl's buying items such as electronics, jewelry, sports memorabilia, clothing and household items. The items were used by the couple, sold to others who didn't know they were stolen, returned for store credit or sent overseas to relatives as gifts, records show.
FBI agents think the defendants seized the Kohl's Cash certificate numbers by using an automated computer process that "located, identified and provided certificate bar code and PIN numbers for rewards cash certificates in a sequential manner."
Kohl's loss prevention team tested the FBI's theory and was able to create an automated process to generate cash rewards numbers and then do a balance inquiry on the website. Using that process, the team was able to get both the certificate number and the current balance for about 3,000 Kohl's Cash certificates — in less than an hour.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/...sh-rewards-program-b99605583z1-338109101.html
sarcasm
