On a New Episode of ‘The Con,’ the Tale of a Mother on Bed Rest With Graphic Design Skills That Led to the Biggest Coupon Scam in U.S. History

“The Coupon Con” – In 2016, a young mom and entrepreneur in Virginia Beach took to couponing while on bed rest after having her third child. Lori Ann Talens began using coupons to maintain the household budget but soon found the rush of scoring deals to be addictive. Using her graphic design skills, she created new coupons to score free meals, household supplies and money. Talens started a counterfeit ring that grew bigger over time with carefully vetted members, one of which would ultimately be her downfall, alerting an industry watchdog of the fraud. The Coupon Information Corporation monitored the group, which led to an FBI stakeout, trash pulls, pole cameras and finally, a house raid. Police discovered coupons stuffed into every nook and cranny of the house. Talens was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison, and prosecutors estimated the loss for retailers at $31.8 million making this the biggest coupon scam in U.S. history. “The Coupon Con,” a new episode of “The Con,” airs THURSDAY, AUG. 25 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC and next day on demand and on Hulu.

The ABC News Studios primetime series is narrated by Emmy®, GRAMMY®, Tony® and Oscar® winner and moderator of “The View,” Whoopi Goldberg, with weekly appearances by podcaster Laci Mosley (“Scam Goddess”) as a featured expert.

For the series, David Sloan is senior executive producer, and Carrie Cook serves as executive producer for ABC News. Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman are executive producers for The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC), a part of Sony Pictures Television, along with executive producer and showrunner John Henshaw.

About ABC News Studios
ABC News Studios, inspired by ABC News’ trusted reporting, is a premium, narrative non-fiction original production house and commissioning partner of series and specials. ABC News Studios champions untold and authentic stories driving the cultural zeitgeist spanning true-crime, investigations, pop culture, and news-adjacent stories. Its subsidiary, ABC News Films, acquires and produces feature documentary films.

About The Intellectual Property Corporation
The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC), a part of Sony Pictures Television, is an Emmy®-winning content creation and production studio based in Van Nuys, California. Founded in 2016 by Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman, IPC develops and produces premium television, film, documentary, commercial and interactive mobile content for global streamers and US broadcast and cable networks. Recent productions include “Indian Matchmaking” and “Night Stalker” (Netflix); “Selena + Chef” (HBO Max); “We’re Here” and “The Swamp” (HBO); “This Is Paris” (YouTube Originals); “The Last Narc” (Amazon); “The Substitute” (Nickelodeon); “Empires of New York” (CNBC); and “The Con” (ABC). IPC is a two-time Emmy Award recipient and a Producers Guild Award recipient for its series “Leah Remini: Scientology & the Aftermath” (A&E).

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ABC News Media Relations
Lauri Hogan
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lauri.l.hogan@abc.com

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