Naugatuck Man Creates Phony Coupon Scheme: Feds

NAUGATUCK, CT — Thomas Papcin, 48, of Naugatuck pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of mail fraud stemming from a fraudulent coupon scheme, federal authorities announced.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in order for a coupon producer to obtain holographic coupon paper, the producer is required to provide to the coupon paper vendor the name of the company for whom the producer is producing coupons, as well as a point of contact for the company for whom the producer is producing coupons, officials said.

On at least two occasions, Papcin purchased holographic coupon paper from a holographic coupon paper vendor by misrepresenting to the vendor the companies that Papcin was producing coupons for, and by providing fictitious contact information for the companies, officials said.

Papcin then used the holographic paper to create fictitious coupons, advertised the coupons online and through e-mail, sold the coupons to customers who believed the coupons were authentic, and shipped the coupons to customers through the mail, federal authorities said.

Through this scheme, Papcin defrauded his customers of $193,027.25, officials said. Papcin is scheduled to be sentenced on June 20. He is released on a $200,000 bond pending sentencing.