August 22, 2001 Posted: 11:06 AM EDT (1506 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI on
Tuesday arrested eight people
allegedly involved in a scheme to
defraud the McDonald's Corp. of
some $13 million by rigging several
of the fast food company's
promotional games since as early as
1995.
The scheme -- involving friends and
close-knit family members, including a
husband and wife -- was initially
reported by a citizen who "came
forward and roughly described a
conspiracy" that was confirmed by
further investigation, said acting FBI
Director Thomas Pickard.
Attorney General John Ashcroft said the
eight suspects are charged with fixing
the outcome of the contests -- including the recent "Pick Your Prize Monopoly"
game -- by controlling the distribution of the high prize values.
More arrests are expected, the officials said.
Ashcroft identified the ringleader of the scam as
Jerome P. Jacobson, 58, known as "Uncle Jerry,"
a security official with Simon Marketing -- the
Georgia-based company that McDonald's hired to
run the Monopoly game.
"The complaint alleges that Jacobson provided the
winning game pieces to his friends and associates
who acted as recruiters," Ashcroft said. "These
recruiters then solicited others who falsely and
fraudulently represented that they were the
legitimate winners of the McDonald's games."
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