FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Two South Florida men were arrested on federal mail fraud and money laundering charges Thursday after postal inspectors said they were part of a multimillion-dollar nationwide fraud scheme involving counterfeit coupons.
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Court documents show the cases against Nikolay Saukov, 60, of Pompano Beach, and Andrei Zaretski, 49, of Hollywood, are being prosecuted in Detroit federal court. Authorities said a third co-defendant, Oleskiy Holikov, lives in and ran a portion of the scheme in the Detroit suburbs.
Coupon ring hits feds’ radar
According to a federal criminal complaint, the three got on authorities’ radar as part of an investigation into The Weekly Coupon Service, or WCS.
Investigators described WCS as “a criminal conspiracy involving the production and sale of highly realistic, but counterfeit, consumer goods coupons with drastically inflated…
This remains the most prevalent form of financial crime globally. It targets the direct access points to your money: your cards and your bank accounts.
- Skimming: Criminals use small devices called “skimmers” placed over ATM or point-of-sale card slots to capture the data from your card’s magnetic strip.
- Card-Not-Present (CNP) Fraud: This occurs during online shopping where a physical card isn’t required. Thieves use stolen card numbers, expiry dates, and CVV codes to make unauthorized purchases.
- Account Takeover (ATO): A hacker gains access to your online banking credentials (often through malware or phishing) and changes the contact details or passwords, locking you out while they drain your funds.