A Mercer County couple, Soud Kanan, 27, and Asmaa Kanan, 25, were arrested in Alliance on Wednesday evening for their alleged involvement in a scheme involving illegally obtained Ensure protein shakes. The Alliance Police Department announced the arrests on their Facebook page.
The couple was under investigation for a coupon fraud operation in which they reportedly stole $1,600 worth of Ensure protein shakes from Meijer and Marc’s stores on June 11. During their visit to Meijer, they filled two shopping carts with 84 packs of Ensure, valued at just over $700. At the self-checkout, they scanned only 20 packs over five transactions, utilizing fraudulent coupons, while neglecting to scan the remaining 64 packs.
The police report indicated that the coupons were deemed fraudulent due to their improper acquisition, as they become void if altered, reproduced, copied, sold, or transferred.
On June 19, the couple returned to Alliance, this time at a Marc’s store, where they managed to obtain 80 additional packs of Ensure along with other items like gum and candy. They used 190 fraudulent coupons at checkout, paying only $43.94 for nearly $900 worth of merchandise.
Officers apprehended the couple as they exited the store. A search of their vehicle revealed hundreds more packs of Ensure, believed to have been stolen from Marc’s stores in Salem and Boardman.
In total, authorities estimate that the couple stole merchandise worth $1,596.09. While the police are uncertain why they accumulated so many protein shakes, some were packaged as if intended for shipment. Investigators are looking into the possibility that the couple planned to resell the products.
Both individuals have been charged with Engaging in a Continuous Course of Conduct to Commit Theft by Deception and are set to appear in Alliance Municipal Court on Friday at 1 p.m. They were released on bond Thursday morning. Authorities suspect that the couple may have executed similar scams at other stores in Boardman, Salem, North Jackson Township, and Cleveland, with additional charges possibly forthcoming.