Case of 5 defendants going to jury Thursday in McDonald's scam

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - A jury will begin deliberations Thursday in the trial of five men charged with redeeming millions of dollars in stolen McDonald&#39;s promotional game pieces. <br> <br> The men are accused of conspiracy to commit mail fraud for recruiting winners or acting as winners in McDonald&#39;s ``Monopoly&#39;&#39; and ``Who Wants to be a Millionaire&#39;&#39; games from 1989 to 2001. <br> <br> After a full day of closing arguments from Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Devereaux and five defense attorneys, U.S. District Judge Henry Lee Adams Junior dismissed jurors and told them to return at 9 a.m. EDT Thursday to begin deliberations. <br> <br> Devereaux argued, ``This is a single conspiracy.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> He outlined how each of the defendants violated federal laws in connection with the popular games. <br> <br> Devereaux compared the conspiracy to an octopus, with alleged mastermind Jerome Jacobson as the head and the other defendants attached to the tentacles. <br> <br> The accused are: George Chandler, of Walhalla, South Carolina; Kevin Whitfield, of Savannah, Georgia; Jerome Pearl, of Miami; Thomas Lambert, of Bowling Green, Ohio; and John Henderson, of Las Vegas. <br> <br> Defense attorneys argued that their clients should be found innocent because they were unaware that the winning game tickets had been stolen. <br> <br> The 59-year-old Jacobson of Lawrenceville, Georgia, pleaded guilty to stealing tickets from his employer Simon Marketing and then recruiting friends and relatives to help find people to redeem the winning tickets.