Redmond pair arrested in Dutch Bros loyalty card scam
Two Redmond-area residents have been charged with stealing hundreds of blank loyalty cards from Dutch Bros coffee stands, first using the forged cards to get free drinks and later selling the cards online, police said Wednesday.
Redmond police were informed Tuesday of the suspected forgery and theft related to Dutch Bros loyalty cards being sold online, Lt. Curtis Chambers said.
Dutch Bros had discovered in recent months hundreds of the cards missing from Redmond-area locations, as well as a loyalty card stamper missing from one Redmond stand.
Detectives with the Redmond Police Department’s Street Crimes Unit took over the investigation and arranged to purchase loyalty cards offered for sale on Craigslist, Chambers said.
A plainclothes police detective met the sellers in Redmond and arrested the seller, recovering a stack of stamped loyalty cards. Chambers said a search of the seller’s home led to recovery of hundreds more blank loyalty cards, a loyalty card stamp and an ink pad.
An investigation revealed Martin Horton, 42, and Marena Livesay, 23, had been using the stolen loyalty cards, stamping them with the stolen stamp and redeeming them for several months, Chambers said. Recently, the pair began selling the cards online.
Chambers said it’s believed the pair are responsible for more than $2,500 worth of losses to the company in Central Oregon.
Horton was arrested and booked into the Deschutes County Jail on charges of second-degree burglary, 30 counts of second-degree forgery, first-degree theft, computer crime and second-degree theft, as well as an out-of-county warrant. He remained held Wednesday on $195,000 bail, jail records showed.
Livesay was arrested on charges of computer crime and second-degree theft. She was issued a citation in lieu of custody and released pending a future court date.
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.
Chambers said Redmond police would like to hear from anyone who may have purchased Dutch Bros loyalty cards from Horton or Livesay in the past six months. Contact police by calling non-emergency dispatch, 541-693-6911, reference Redmond PD Case Report 2019-00321609.
“The Redmond Police Department Street Crimes Unit consists of two full-time detectives and is supported by a half dozen part-time officers working during their off-duty time,” Chambers said in a news release.
” The SCU team works to make Redmond the safest community in Oregon by conducting investigations targeting quality of life crimes, such as drug crimes, burglary, theft, stolen vehicles and other crimes patrol officers do not have the ability to investigate due to the nature of patrol-related calls for service. ”
KTVZ 2019
