Two Oregon men arrested in alleged coin redemption scam in Thurston County 

Two men from Oregon were arrested in connection with an alleged scheme involving fraudulent Coinstar redemption tickets at a WinCo Foods location at 7540 Martin Way E. 

According to a Thurston County Sheriff’s Office report, the incident unfolded on Monday, June 23, after WinCo’s loss prevention team reported suspicious activity linked to recurring Coinstar fraud. Store employees recognized two individuals believed to be involved in similar cases in Oregon.  

Store staff said the men had been observed manipulating the Coinstar machine process — allegedly using both legitimate coin deposit slips and duplicate copies to redeem cash. 

The store staff informed authorities that the two men were occupying a light blue Honda Pilot. Authorities located the suspect vehicle near a fast food restaurant shortly after the report.  

The driver was identified as 60-year-old Brian Crist George, while the passenger was identified as 49-year-old Raymon Wayne Littell. Officers observed a printer and multiple Coinstar receipts in plain view inside the car. 

According to the report, the method appeared to involve printing multiple copies of legitimate Coinstar receipts to redeem them at different stores.

One of the suspects would reportedly deposit coins into a Coinstar machine to generate a legitimate redemption slip, then leave the store without cashing it. Later, the second person would return to redeem both the original and a duplicated version. 

“It appeared to be a constant cycle of obtaining a valid ticket, photocopying it, and then using it with a fraudulent ticket to obtain real US currency,” a sheriff's office responding deputy said in the report.

After obtaining a search warrant, deputies searched inside the suspect vehicle and uncovered coin rolls, a printer, white paper stock, and various items, such as scissors, tape and ink cartridges. The items are believed to be used in document forgery.

Coinstar receipts from Winco Foods, Safeway, Fred Meyer, Albertsons and Raley’s were also found inside the vehicle. 

Authorities seized 14 items in total, including 24 rolls of quarters, 40 rolls of pennies, and various printed materials.  

George and Littell were booked into Thurston County Corrections Facility on suspicion of forgery and third-degree attempted theft.