McDonald's prize scam mastermind to plead guilty

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - According to court documents, a man accused of masterminding the theft of $12.5 million in winning McDonald&#39;s game tickets has agreed to a plea deal that requires him to return the money, along with several homes and cars. <br> <br> Jerome Jacobson of Lawrenceville, Georgia, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and two counts of mail fraud. The documents said that in exchange, prosecutors are dropping six counts of mail fraud. <br> <br> Each count carries a maximum five years in prison, although prosecutors said they would argue for a three-year reduction in exchange for the plea, expected to be made in a hearing Friday. <br> <br> There was no telephone listing for Jacobson and he could not be reached for comment. His lawyer, Ed Garland, didn&#39;t immediately return a call seeking comment. McDonald&#39;s officials also did not return a phone call. <br> <br> Jacobson was among 51 people indicted last year in a scam that went undetected for a dozen years involving McDonald&#39;s games such as Monopoly and Who Wants to be a Millionaire? <br> <br> Prosecutors said that as far back as the late 1980s, Jacobson, director of security for Simon Marketing Incorporated, embezzled the high-value winning McDonald&#39;s game pieces from his employer. <br> <br> Jacobson 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 one million dollars, according to the indictment.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/4/202589