Court documents show prize scam mastermind set to plead guilty

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - A Georgia man who is the accused mastermind of a $12.5 million ripoff of McDonald&#39;s promotional prizes is ready to plead guilty before a federal judge, according to a plea agreement. <br> <br> Jerome Jacobson of Lawrenceville, Ga., has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and two counts of mail fraud in Jacksonville this week, according to court records. <br> <br> Each count carries a maximum five years in prison, according to documents signed Thursday by Jacobson. <br> <br> The agreement also calls for Jacobson to reimburse McDonald&#39;s the money taken in the thefts. He has agreed to forfeit cash, several homes, cars and other property to help pay back the $12.5 million. <br> <br> Jacobson was among 51 people indicted last year in a scam involving the theft and distribution of high-value game pieces from McDonald&#39;s games such as Monopoly and Who Wants to be a Millionaire? <br> <br> Twenty-six people have pleaded guilty so far and 10 plea agreements are being arranged. No one has been sentenced. <br> <br> Jacobson could not be reached for comment. His lawyer, Ed Garland, didn&#39;t immediately return a call seeking comment. Lead federal prosecutor Mark Devereaux declined comment. <br> <br> Prosecutors said that as far back as the late 1980s, Jacobson, director of security for Simon Marketing Inc., embezzled more than $20 million worth of high-value winning McDonald&#39;s game pieces from his employer. <br> <br> He then distributed the winning game pieces to individuals who personally redeemed the prizes or recruited others to redeem the game pieces for prizes, some valued at as much as $1 million, according to the indictment. <br> <br> Simon Marketing Inc., with headquarters in Los Angeles, had offices in Atlanta, where Jacobson worked. McDonald&#39;s had contracted with Simon to run its popular Monopoly games. <br> <br> In some cases, Jacobson allegedly demanded cash before agreeing to distribute the game pieces. Some recipients reportedly mortgaged their homes to get the money. <br> <br> Besides the conspiracy charge, Jacobson had been charged with eight counts of mail fraud. <br> <br> The scheme was made public last summer by Attorney General John Ashcroft. No McDonald&#39;s employees were involved. <br> <br> People were charged across the country, including Florida, Georgia, California, Indiana, Texas, South Carolina and Wisconsin.