Thieves swipe loyalty cards and stamper, costing Dutch Bros thousands, Oregon cops say
So much for the “loyalty” in “loyalty card.”
Dutch Bros coffee shops in Redmond, Oregon, recently noticed that hundreds of loyalty cards and a loyalty card stamper had disappeared from their stores — and that fully stamped loyalty cards were being sold online, Redmond police said in a news release Wednesday.
“They had previously noticed cards missing, and then when they saw the online posts, they immediately became suspicious,” said Lt. Curtis Chambers, according to the Bend Bulletin.
Those loyalty cards are redeemable for free drinks, police said.
After Dutch Bros reported the suspicious circumstances Tuesday, Redmond detectives went on Craigslist and arranged to buy some forged cards.
A detective dressed in street clothes met the sellers locally and recovered a stack of stamped cards — and when authorities searched the seller’s home, they discovered hundreds more “blank loyalty cards, a Dutch Bros loyalty card stamp, and an ink pad,” police said.
Martin Horton, 42, and Marena Livesay, 23, both of the Redmond area, were arrested in the theft and forgery scheme, according to police.
Police said their investigation revealed that the pair “had been using the stolen loyalty cards, stamping the cards with the stolen stamp, and redeeming them for free drinks for several months. Recently, the two began selling the cards online. It is believed these two alone are responsible for over $2,500 worth of losses to Dutch Bros in Central Oregon as a result of this theft.”
Horton faces charges of burglary, theft and computer crime, as well as 30 counts of forgery, according to police. He was booked at the Deschutes County Adult Jail.
Livesay faces charges of theft and computer crime, but “was issued a citation in lieu of custody and released with a court date,” police said.
KTVZ reported that “though the cards were stolen from the locations, Chambers said they did not break into the coffee stands, nor did they work there, to the knowledge of police.”
Dutch Bros bills itself as “the country’s largest, privately held drive-thru coffee company, with more than 320 locations in seven western states and over 12,000 employees.”
Headquartered in Grants Pass, Oregon, the chain has coffee kiosk outposts in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, according to the company’s website.
This story was originally published October 3, 2019 at 6:43 PM with the headline "Thieves swipe loyalty cards and stamper, costing Dutch Bros thousands, Oregon cops say."
