ALBANY — 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.
Police arrested 55-year-old Carrie Jones and her 31-year-old daughter Sarah Jones in 2011, after corporate investigators tracked an unusually high number of winnings to a computer IP address in Albany.
Prosecutor Coleen Cerda said the odds were against the city of Albany — let alone one family — getting so many prizes. Contest rules also specified a person could win only twice and a household only five times during the promotion.
To avoid the limit, it was alleged the pair manufactured email addresses using other people’s identities. The prize codes were then grouped together and sold online.
The Albany Democrat-Herald reports that Sarah Jones pleaded guilty to computer crime and identity theft. Carrie Jones pleaded guilty to computer crime.
