Dent, Baker, 49, and his wife, 49, acted as recruiters and Phenis, 50, "won" $500,000. employees were involved and that McDonald's assisted the investigation.Īccording to the affidavit from FBI agent Richard J. FBI officials declined to identify the accountant.Īfter the "winners" received prize checks, they shared a portion of the proceeds with their recruiters, who then paid a portion to the Simon employee.Īuthorities said no McDonald's Corp. Jacobson and an accountant from a nationally recognized public accounting firm were the only two people who had custody of the winning game pieces, the complaint said. Jacobson had almost total control over the distribution of winning game pieces, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Jacksonville, Fla. The pieces are redeemable for "instant win" prizes or could be used on a game board available at McDonald's. McDonald's has offered big prizes – $1 million in cash, diamonds or gold, cars and vacations – to Monopoly game winners.Ĭustomers collect game pieces attached to drink cups or obtained through writing to McDonald's. employee embezzled high-value game pieces and provided them to friends and associates who acted as "recruiters." They then solicited individuals who fraudulently posed as legitimate winners of McDonald's games, federal officials said.Īmong those arrested was Jerome Jacobson, 58, an employee of the company's security office in Lawrenceville, Ga.Īuthorities said it was not clear whether there were ever any legitimate winners of large prizes in McDonald's Monopoly and "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" games. The FBI said in an affidavit that the criminal ring involved an employee in the security department of Simon Marketing, Inc., a Los Angeles-based company responsible for McDonald's game security.Īccording to the federal complaint and an FBI affidavit in the case, the Simon Marketing Inc. In all, the ring "won" more than $13 million in prizes, federal officials said. Each is charged in a felony complaint with conspiracy to commit mail fraud. customers by manipulating the restaurant chain's promotional prize contests such as "Monopoly" for the past six years.įBI agents arrested Brenda S. Plot involved $13 million in prizes, FBI saysĮight people – including four Upstate residents – were arrested Tuesday and charged in a nationwide scheme to defraud millions of McDonald's Corp. None of the three, or their attorneys, would comment. and the Bakers were arrested at 8:15 a.m. The game ended in the span of 45 minutes Tuesday morning, when Hughey and the Bakers were arrested at their homes. On Monday at 6:30 a.m., the FBI began surveillance of Hughey and the Bakers. Davis said he got the two winning game pieces from McDonald's restaurants in Texas on July 24 and July 26. Davis of Granbury, Texas, for last month's Monopoly game. She said if Phenis didn't cooperate, the ticket would be reported as stolen.īaker gave the piece to Hughey, who recruited John F. In another phone call an hour later, Linda Baker said the money was never Phenis' but that she was merely a "front man." She said the only reason why Phenis was brought in was because Dwight Baker needed "someone with a different name" to claim the prize, the affidavit said. Later that night, Dwight Baker told his wife said that if her sister didn't give him the entire $500,000, he would call in the U.S. According to the agreement between Phenis and the Bakers, she would pay income taxes on the $500,000, give $90,000 to Dwight Baker, and $70,000 to Jacobson. The affidavit also says that on July 14, Phenis received the check from McDonald's and the FBI intercepted telephone calls by the Bakers in which they told a relative they were concerned that Phenis took the money and fled to California. Jacobson told Dwight Baker to pose as Phenis' son and demand the money and threaten to get an attorney - or to call Burger King. Dwight Baker then got in touch with Jerry Jacobson, who allegedly embezzled winning game pieces from the company that was supposed to distribute them. On July 3, Phenis and Hughey called Dwight Baker to tell him they had not received their checks. But the plan hit a snag in early July when the FBI got McDonald's to delay their checks, allowing agents to tap their phones. Hughey and Phenis set up fake residences, away from the Upstate, and claimed their prizes. She rented an apartment in the city, but the FBI said Tuesday that Phenis lived at the same address as the Bakers. Phenis told McDonald's she lived in Asheville when she won $500,000 on May 30. Hughey claimed to be from Tennessee because an Upstate resident won a $1 million prize last year, and he didn't want to raise suspicion. Other news: 'The epitome of honorable public service': Dick Riley's life and service in education
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