The standout character, however, is FBI man Doug Mathews, who worked the case. But, notes Hernandez, "if there is one specific villain in this entire thing, it’s definitely Uncle Jerry". That phone call is just the start of the labyrinthine tale told by filmmakers James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte, in a character-rich story of Italian mobsters, charming cocaine traffickers, repentant Mormons, undercover agents, betrayed wives, mistresses and far-from-happy families. The spree would have continued were it not for a tip-off to the FBI, mentioning three related people who had won big prizes, all linked to a mysterious figure known as "Uncle Jerry". The $US1 million tabs - as well as several for $US500,000, and those for at least seven cars ranging from a Dodge Viper to a Mercedes Roadster - were being shared out among a circle of family, friends and acquaintances. Not one of the high-value "game pieces" made it on to products to be sold to McDonald’s customers. When it was first introduced in 1987, the game boosted McDonald’s sales by 40 per cent, even though the chances of winning one of the top prizes was around 250 million to one.
There were also "instant win" pieces, which in the US had prizes ranging from a free hamburger to $US1 million. Find and complete individual sets and you could claim a cash prize. Selected items on the McDonald’s menu included peel-off tabs with the names of the properties you’d find on a Monopoly board.
HOW ONE MAN RIGGED THE MCDONALD’S MONOPOLY GAME AND WON $24 MILLION FULL
The series unearths the full story of how fraudsters managed to scoop every $US1 million prize in the promotional Monopoly game run by McDonald’s in America for 12 years. Osama bin Laden’s attack pushed reports of the hearing out of the papers, burying an astonishing tale that has now become the compulsive six-part documentary McMillion$.
On the day before terrorists flew airliners into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in 2001, a remarkable court case began in the city of Jacksonville, Florida.