3 arrested in Coinstar scam at supermarket, cops say

A stop of a suspicious vehicle leaving a Pathmark supermarket in Massapequa Wednesday led to the arrest of three men who, police said, were found after an investigation to be involved in cashing a fraudulent voucher at the store.

Nassau County police said the trio -- Donavon Greene, 27, of 118-77 Francis Lewis Blvd., Springfield Gardens, Queens; Cranston Guy, 41, of 2216 Dutch Broadway, Elmont; and Alberto Parkins, 27, of 1426 Loring Ave., East New York, Brooklyn -- were each charged with criminal possession of forgery devices and second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument.

Police said the three men entered the Pathmark on Carmans Road at 4:35 p.m., presenting a fraudulent Coinstar receipt to the cashier -- and receiving $79.24 in cash. The Coinstar system allows users to trade gift cards for cash vouchers, according to its website.

Police said that a Seventh Precinct officer had spotted one of the men in a car outside the supermarket, thought he was acting suspiciously, and said that when the other two returned to the car he initiated a traffic stop. During the stop, police said, the trio were found to be in possession of two re-encoded credit cards, Coinstar receipts, a computer flash drive -- and a printer with "genuine paper" from Coinstar.

Greene, Guy and Parkins all face arraignment Thursday in First District Court in Hempstead.