Man Fixed Fast Food Game and Managed to Get Away with Winning $24 Million

Back in 1987, one of the biggest fast-food restaurants in the world began a Monopoly game that allowed its customers to win various prizes, including free meals, a Dodge Viper, or a vacation with a Grand Prize of $1 million. But there was one customer named Jerome Jacobson who rigged the game in his favor.

Officer Jacobson

Ever since he was a little kid, Jerome Jacobson wanted to be a police officer. He joined the force in 1976 in Hollywood, Florida, but his career ended abruptly after he collapsed due to paralysis in 1980.

He was eventually diagnosed with a rare neurological issue, which caused him to have to remain at home. As a result, the police department finally had to let him go, and he was forced to move on.

New career

After being relieved of his duties from the police department, Jacobson set out to get into a new field. He began working as a security auditor at a local accounting firm. As part of his duties, he was tasked with handling one client – a company called Simon Marketing, which had a $500 million account for a fast-food restaurant.

Simon Marketing noticed Jacobson’s work ethic, so they asked him to create a system to prevent theft in a Monopoly game. As a result, Jacobson was able to see how the game worked, and he even saw how the computer selected the winning prizes.

Getting paid

Jacobson and his assistant were responsible for cutting out the significant prizes and placing them into special envelopes. They would then transfer the envelopes to various locations around the country. While Jacobson was paid relatively well for his job as a security auditor, he realized he could easily get rich by taking some of these winning game pieces and cashing them in.

At first, he was very loyal and reliable, but slowly the greed began to take hold of him. He would eventually take advantage of his position and his inside track to the winning pieces of the Monopoly game.

His first theft

After a year went by, Jacobson couldn’t resist the temptation any longer. He stole a $25,000 winning game piece, and one day when his family got together, he handed it to his stepbrother. Once he saw how easy it was, he sought out other options as well. One day, he heard his butcher say that he would love to win a prize.

Jacobson hinted that he could make that happen, so the butcher offered a distant relative as the target. In exchange, the butcher would give Jacobson $2,000 for his efforts. Jacobson went through with the transaction.

Taking it further

Things got a lot more intense when a Hong Kong supplier mistakenly sent Jacobson the anti-tamper seals for the winning envelopes. He realized that he could now easily replace the winning pieces, and then replace the seals with new ones.

Since he was traveling across the states with a fellow female auditor, he would go into a bathroom at the airport, where he would replace the winning prizes with losing ones, before the envelopes were transferred to their intended destinations. But even with the winning prize pieces in his possession, Jacobson still had to find the right “winners” who could cash the prizes without suspicion.

New “investors”

With a new method in place to get his hands on the winning pieces, Jacobson realized he needed more people who could collect the prizes. He used friends of friends and relatives, who he referred to as his “investors.”

They would pay him a cash payment ahead of time, and he would direct them on the location of the winning piece, as well as how to conduct themselves when they claimed their prizes.

Fancy lifestyle

His scheme was so elaborate at this point that he was cashing in on almost all the big prize money. He had gained so much money, and he was spending it at will. Jacobson began purchasing real estate and cars, while also going on expensive and exotic vacations.

He wore expensive suits and ate at fancy restaurants consistently. But the lavish lifestyle became addicting, and he became hungry for more money.

A new partner

One day at the airport, Jacobson ran into a fellow traveler. His name was Gennaro Colombo, and he was a member of a crime family from New York. Their conversation led to a contact number exchange. Shortly after that, Jacobson sent Colombo a winning ticket for a Dodge Viper.

This transaction led to a long-standing “business partnership.” Colombo would go around the country with people who would claim the prizes. Jacobson also gave Colombo’s wife and her family several big prize tickets.

A tragic accident

The business partners made things work for a while. But then, in the spring of 1998, Colombo and his wife were driving to South Carolina to look for land to purchase. On their way, they were in a car accident.

Gennaro’s wife was behind the wheel, and her injuries were relatively light, but Gennaro himself later passed away at the hospital. The tragic incident left everyone in shock. Jacobson also now had to find a new partner who could help him cash in on the prizes.

Jacobson’s new team

Jacobson had to look forward at this point. He quickly met a man named Richard Couturier, who owned a fried-chicken restaurant chain. The two began working together with relative success.

Meanwhile, Jacobson decided to expand his investors further, when he teamed up with Andrew Glomb, an ex-convict who served 12 years in prison for drug trafficking. And then there was Dwight Baker, who was Jacobson’s real estate broker, who was having financial troubles. After cashing in $1 million, Baker was on the hook for more.

Baker was greedy

Baker was blinded by the easy money he made. He gave a $500,000 winning prize piece to his wife’s sister, and also gave a $1 million piece to his friend Ronald E. Hughey. The system required that each “winner” relocate to another state, and wait a while before cashing their prizes.

Eventually, Jacobson became paranoid. With so many of his “winners” appearing on TV commercials, he began to worry about his future.

FBI investigation

Eventually, someone tipped off the FBI regarding one of the $1 million prize claimers named William Fisher. Special Agent Richard Dent was stationed in Jacksonville when an informant told him about the scheme, and he even mentioned the name “uncle Jerry” (Jacobson’s stage name).

This led to Agent Dent and an executive beginning an extensive investigation into the matter. The FBI spoke with Fisher, who said he won the prize while living in New Hampshire for a year.

Leaving tracks

Fisher’s story didn’t add up. There were property records and electricity bills that showed he was living in Florida the whole time. Then, another prize winner named Gloria Brown was consistently routing her $50,000 checks to Jacksonville. Agent Dent began tracking the promotion back to Simon’s Marketing.

He then realized that their Director of Security was named Jerome “Jerry” Jacobson. After placing a wiretap on Jacobson’s phone, Dent realized there were other accomplices to go after.

Operation: Final Answer

As the scope of the investigation grew, Agent Dent named it Operation: Final Answer. Along with 25 other agents across the country, they began to collect information regarding the people who were suspected to be involved.

A spokesperson named Amy Murray started to contact previous winners to see if they would agree to be in a commercial. When she spoke with Ronald E. Hughey, the FBI realized that his Tennessee phone number was actually a phone-forwarding device. He was tracked back to South Carolina, just miles away from another “winner.”

Tough decision

By now, there was enough evidence to bring Jacobson to justice. But the CEO, Jack Greenberg, had a tough decision to make. If he ran the Monopoly promotion one last time, they would be able to catch Jacobson in the act. But running the game while knowing it was no longer legitimate could get them sued.

Eventually, they decided to run the game one last time. Jacobson and Baker drove to Texas to meet their accomplice, a man named John Davis.

Justice served

This time, the FBI was on their heels. They allowed the transaction to happen and waited for the prize to be claimed. The FBI got their wish, and there was now enough evidence to bring them all down.

Eight people were arrested in this case, including Dwight Baker and his wife Linda, John Davis, Andrew Glomb, Ronald Hughey, and Brenda Phenis. Jacobson was charged with nine different charges with the potential to spend 45 years in prison, so he pleaded guilty to serve just 15 years.

Timing helped Jacobson

Jacobson admitted to making the “biggest mistake of his life.” His trial took place on September 10, 2001. The very next day was the infamously tragic terrorist attack that took place at the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and Pennsylvania.

The media justifiably turned its attention from this case to the more important events that were shocking in the country. Ultimately, Jacobson was sentenced to 3 years in prison, while being ordered to pay $12 million in restitution.

The Big Screen

This story made so much buzz that it is being made into a movie. Actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are joining forces on the big screen to bring the story to life. With Affleck directing the film, Matt Damon is set to play the role of Jacobson.

There are even rumors that a bidding war has developed over this script, and it will surely be an entertaining movie to watch.

Jacobson today

Jacobson has been out of jail for more than a decade now. After serving his three-year sentence for committing fraud, he has been living a quiet life. Apparently, he is believed to be in poor health and is content with living his life away from the spotlight.

He has not conducted any interviews or media participation since his release. Perhaps the negative experience of sitting behind bars for three years took its toll on him.

Aftermath

Following the case, the fast-food restaurant decided to file a lawsuit against Simon Marketing for fraud, breach of contract, and racketeering, asking for $35 million in compensation. Simon Marketing countered with a suit of their own, asking for a much larger scale of payment amounting to $1.9 million, following similar allegations that also included defamation.

The bad reputation cost Simon Marketing dearly, as their shares plummeted by 78 percent, down to $0.66 per share.

Phillip Morris

The entire ordeal between the fast-food restaurant and Simon Marketing had other repercussions. Simon Marketing was also providing services to Phillip Morris. But in the wake of this conspiracy, the latter decided to drop Simon Marketing as well.

In the end, the lawsuits played themselves out, and it left the fast-food restaurant paying Simon Marketing $17 million to end the saga. This was obviously a losing affair for both sides, but it was simply the side effect of Jacobson’s scam.

Already rigged?

During the court hearings, Jacobson claimed that the game had already been rigged against Canada. He said that whenever the winning ticket was selected to go to Canada by the computer, Simon Marketing executives would run the computer again until it selected a U.S. location.

In order to remedy the situation, executives issued an apology, and they ran a new promotion that promised to lead to new winners in Canada. They have kept their promise.

Still going strong

The fast-food restaurant is still the most popular fast-food chain in America. And their Monopoly promotion continues to be popular among its customers. The promotion that made so much noise back when this case took place remains one of the staples of the company’s marketing plans.

The numbers indicate that people seem to still love both the burgers and the Monopoly board game here in 2019.