GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A man involved in a long-running organized retail scheme that cost Meijer stores hundreds of thousands of dollars was sentenced.
Travis Gale, 31, was sentenced in 17th Circuit Court Wednesday to three to 20 years in prison for conducting a criminal enterprise.
Court docs: Meijer out $800K after organized retail crime scheme
“This particular incident occurred over a period of years where you and several co-defendants decided to engage in a scheme that involved coupon and gift card fraud from Meijer, which resulted in thousands and thousands of dollars lost,’’ Kent County Circuit Court Judge Christina Elmore said during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing.
According to court records, in early 2022, Meijer discovered a loss of $805,000 due to counterfeit coupon barcodes. While investigators say the scheme dates back to at least 2018, court records show Meijer lost $134,000 in Michigan in less than two months in early 2022 alone,
Gale was among several individuals who faced charges in connection to the criminal enterprise. Many of them are either married, related or known associates of one another, police said.