Page "McDonald's Monopoly" Paragraph 2

In 2000, the US promotion was halted after fraud was uncovered.

A subcontracting company called Simon Marketing ( a then-subsidiary of Cyrk ), which had been hired by McDonald's to organize and promote the game, failed to recognize a flaw in its procedures, and the chief of security, Jerome P. Jacobson, was able to remove the most expensive game pieces, which he then passed to associates who would redeem them and share the proceeds.

The associates won almost all of the top prizes between 1995 and 2000, including McDonald's giveaways that did not have the Monopoly theme.

The associates netted over $ 24 million.

The scheme was uncovered when one of the participants informed the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Even though the fraud was perpetrated without McDonald's knowledge, the McDonald's Corporation voluntarily attempted to rectify the situation by issuing payouts to new ( legitimate ) winners, awarding five $ 1 million annuity prizes, and fifty $ 100, 000 prizes over a five-day period.