Albany mother and daughter guilty in Coca-Cola scam
ALBANY, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon mother and daughter who devised an elaborate scheme to scam Coca-Cola in a bottle cap promotion have been sentenced to probation and must pay back almost $50,000 to the corporation.
Carrie Jones, 55, and Sarah Jones, 31, were arrested after corporate investigators in 2011 tracked an unusually high number of winnings to a computer IP address in Albany.
During the promotion, which ran from May to August 2011, customers could text a code found underneath the cap of their Coca-Cola product to see if their code was a winner. Winners then emailed their winning code to Coca-Cola to receive a prize code, redeemable for things like concert tickets.
Prosecutor Coleen Cerda said the odds were against the city of Albany — let alone one family — getting so many prizes. Contest rules also specified that a person could win only twice and a household only five times during the four-month promotion.
To avoid the limit, it was alleged that the Joneses' manufactured email addresses using other people's identities. The prize codes were then grouped together and sold online on eBay.
The Joneses, the prosecutor added, never divulged where they got the winning prize codes.
Sarah Jones pleaded guilty Friday to computer crime and identity theft. Carrie Jones pleaded guilty to computer crime.
"It's a heck of a lot of restitution you're agreeing to," Judge Thomas McHill said.
But police Det. Mike Wood told the Albany Democrat-Herald that he thinks the Joneses bilked Coke out of "six figures" worth of prizes.
Neither woman made a statement in court.
"She realizes what she did was wrong," said defense attorney David Denhartigh, speaking for Sarah Jones. "I think she's a good person, and she made a big mistake."
There is a poorly maintained quickie mart down the block from Montgomery Park. The intersection of Wardway, Nimbus and St Helens Road. Every time there is a Coke or Soda promotion on the fountain cups they are all removed. When asked, the people that work there say they don't participate in the promotions. Uh huh, they remove the tabs themselves and hope for a win. Â
One of the worst quick marts in Portland
I have a couple of questions, what does the prosecutor mean by "odds were against the city of Albany" and the police "thinks the Jones bilked Coke out of six figures worth of prizes". Why is it harder for people in Albany to have less of a chance of winning than other parts of the country. If the police do not know what and how much was "stolen" how can they prosecute them? Â
I have seen people like this where I take my cans they come and pick up bottle caps and say we might win something.
What thieves picking up caps off the ground.
Wait what thieves are the coke company for telling people " Hey if your desperate go drink more coke to win"??
So they pulled in 100,000 (six figures) and pay 50,000. I guess crime does pay after all.
Just goes to show, where there's a will, there's always a way! Glad they got caught, though! LOL
"She realizes what she did was wrong," said defense attorney David Denhartigh, speaking for Sarah Jones. "I think she's a good person, and she made a big mistake." Â (from the story)
Uh-huh...riiight... Sorry, I'm not buyin' that one... These two are nothing but scammers and thieves..Â
@margay1Â Exactly... doing it enough to require false identities to keep collecting prizes... yeah... there is no way that was just some 'big mistake'.
They should have bought some IP addresses and spread it all around, too stoopid I guess.
Coke does good things
"She realizes what she did was wrong," said defense attorney David Denhartigh, speaking for Sarah Jones. "I think she's a good person, and she made a big mistake."
Yea, right. I don't know....for some reason I'm a little skeptical.
Sorry David, a good person does not lie and steal.
@GladiOla So there are no good people in politics?
@Bert @GladiOla BINGO!
No Bert there are not, well maybe a few.
@BertÂ
Cory Booker
Al Franken
Carl Levin
@GladiOla Name three?