Coupon boss indicted

The former head of International Outsourcing Services, the big El Paso coupon clearing house, has been indicted.

For years, Chris Balsiger ran the nation's biggest clearinghouse of discount coupons redeemed by consumers at supermarkets. But he still didn't care too much for the industry.

"It's a lying, cheating, dirty business," he says.

Now the 54-year-old multimillionaire is facing a 27-count federal indictment, charged with leading a scheme that bilked some of the nation's largest coupon-issuers out of at least $250 million. He denies the charges.

He's also being sued by several grocery/CPG companies, including Kraft and Pepsico.

Some of the things they are alleged to have done (such as "gang-cutting") are things I have heard about for years from friends in that side of the business (I have very limited experience with couponing). The article linked here has a lot of fascinating information, like throwing coupons into a cement mixer to make them look used.