Discover the unbelievable true story behind the McDonald's Monopoly scam — a $24 million marketing heist that fooled millions. This shocking fraud wasn't a glitch, but a carefully crafted crime from the inside.
In the 1990s, McDonald's restaurants launched a massive marketing campaign in the United States. This campaign was named "Monopoly Game." With each meal ordered, customers received a game piece, which might carry a prize. The prizes were varied, including electronics, cars, boats, and cash amounts ranging from one thousand dollars to one million dollars. The one-million-dollar prize was the grand prize everyone desired. As a result, people's demand for purchases surged significantly to obtain the prizes, and McDonald's sales skyrocketed. This success prompted them to repeat the marketing campaign several times a year. What would later be revealed, however, was that from 1989 to 2001, there was no legitimate winner of the one-million-dollar prize.
The Organized Fraud Scheme and the Theft of Millions of Dollars by "Uncle Jerry"
There were winners over the years, but all of them were a result of fraud. The man responsible for this massive fraud operation was known as "Uncle Jerry." "Uncle Jerry" managed to steal over 25 million dollars in prize money over twelve years. The question that would be discovered is how he did it, how he wasn't exposed all these years, and what his connection to the mafia was.
FBI Intervention and the Start of the Investigation into the McDonald's Contest Tampering
It starts with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), specifically the Jacksonville office located in Florida. This office specialized in prosecuting corruption, fraud, and corporate cases in particular. In 2001, they received a call from a person who would be referred to as "the informant," whose identity was unknown and not disclosed. The informant stated that the Monopoly game organized by McDonald's restaurants had been tampered with. The informant gave them the names of three individuals who had won the one-million-dollar prize over the past years, and indicated a family connection between them, despite their different names and family names, which made this connection unclear at first glance. It was later found upon investigation that there was indeed a family connection between them, and they all won the one-million-dollar prize, which is completely abnormal. The anonymous informant also gave them the name of the person he described as the mastermind, "Uncle Jerry." FBI investigators began looking into the matter, wondering if it was plausible that the McDonald's game had been infiltrated in some way. They had to make sure. It was now 2001, and McDonald's had launched the game in 1987, fourteen years prior, and it was repeated two or three times every year.
Discovery of the Fraudulent Pattern: Family Ties Among Grand Prize Winners
The first thing investigators had to ascertain was the records of all previous winners, especially those who had won the grand prize, the one million dollars. They brought a list of winners over the past fourteen years, and the shock was that a large number of them had family ties, even if distant. For example, you might find a winner, and then the next winner would be the first winner's cousin, a distant connection but still a family tie. The investigators were discovering these family ties in shock, as the probability of something like this happening was almost impossible, as if you were struck by lightning a million times. Here, they truly realized that a fraud operation was underway, and that someone had somehow managed to infiltrate this game and seize the large prizes, which were the game pieces containing valuable prizes.
FBI's Reservation on Involving McDonald's in the Investigation
The investigators did not have enough information to delve deeper into the case; all they had was the name "Uncle Jerry" provided by the anonymous informant. The investigators were perplexed, as they had a lot of missing information. They needed to know the weaknesses that might allow the fraudsters to steal the game pieces, as well as where these pieces were printed, where the cups and containers were printed, how they were distributed, and how McDonald's ensured the process was truly random. The FBI was hesitant to involve McDonald's management in the case, as they feared there might be accomplices within the management. But in the end, they had no other choice. They had no lead or source from which they could obtain this missing information, so they had to contact McDonald's.
Conditional Cooperation Between McDonald's and the FBI to Uncover the Fraud
The FBI contacted one of the senior managers in McDonald's company, the head of security. They did not inform him of the details of the matter but asked him to come to their office to discuss an important matter, and told him to bring two or three people with him, and not to tell anyone that he would be meeting with the FBI. Indeed, three senior McDonald's executives boarded a plane to Jacksonville, where the FBI office was located. There, one of the investigators met them and took them directly from the airport to the office. During the meeting, the investigators explained to the executives that their game had been compromised, and that all the major prize winners over the past years had won through fraud, and that most of them were relatives, despite their different names and family names. The executives were shocked, and the first thing they thought of was to stop the game immediately, especially since they were about to launch a new campaign. But the investigators immediately told them that this was the worst thing they could do, as the fraudsters would immediately know that something was wrong and might escape punishment. The FBI tried to convince the executives of the necessity of launching the new campaign and allowing them to monitor to see how the fraudsters were doing their work. The executives were hesitant, and the meeting at the FBI office went on for a long time as they discussed the matter.
Unveiling Simon Marketing's Role in Game Management and Discovering the Security Flaw
In the end, the three executives present in the office said that this decision was not theirs alone; the entire board of directors had to approve it. So some FBI investigators went with these executives and traveled with them to McDonald's headquarters. There, they met with the senior board of directors, and after the meeting, they agreed to launch the new Monopoly game campaign so that the FBI could monitor it. Of course, the second objective of the meeting was for the investigators to find out who was responsible for printing and distributing the game pieces. The executives informed them that everything was handled by an external marketing company called Simon Marketing. This meant that McDonald's had contracted with this company to manage all its marketing campaigns. So Simon was responsible for printing the pieces, distributing them, and ensuring that everything was random. Here, the FBI realized that the flaw or vulnerability was definitely within this marketing company, Simon Marketing. Simon Marketing was one of McDonald's most important partners; the marketing campaigns they conducted were very successful and powerful, and the strongest of them was the Monopoly game campaign, with various prizes totaling fifty million dollars, topped by the one-million-dollar prize. Customers could obtain the game pieces either by purchasing meals, receiving them with cups, containers, and wrappers, or by purchasing magazines cooperating with McDonald's, where people could get the Monopoly game and the pieces within it. If you received a winning piece, you would contact McDonald's, who had special ways to ensure that the pieces were genuine and not fake, especially pieces carrying large prizes.
Discovery of Michael Hoover, the Fake Millionaire Winner, and FBI Surveillance
This game was very successful, and McDonald's sales increased by up to forty percent whenever they launched a new campaign. It was one of the most successful marketing campaigns, and most people's goal was the grand prize, the one million dollars, even though they knew their chances of winning were very slim. Imagine if customers knew that their chance of winning these prizes was actually zero, because there was someone seizing these pieces before they even reached the containers. Anyway, as agreed with the FBI, McDonald's, in cooperation with Simon Marketing, launched the new campaign. It wasn't long before someone called and said he had received the one-million-dollar piece. McDonald's took the piece from him and confirmed that it was indeed the genuine piece, so this person was declared the new one-million-dollar winner. Of course, the news immediately reached the FBI, and they began investigating this person. His name was Michael Hoover, and he worked as a casino manager. Immediately, the FBI began wiretapping his calls. The FBI can wiretap any phone with the help of telecommunications companies, but they must first obtain permission from a federal judge, and they must have strong reasons or suspicions against the person they want to wiretap. They began wiretapping his calls, but they remained without results for several days, as they were all ordinary calls.
The FBI's Clever Trick to Expose Michael Hoover and "A.J."
One of the investigators had an idea. Prize winners sign papers with McDonald's after winning, and among the conditions is that McDonald's can use their names and photos in advertisements. So this investigator told his colleagues: "Why don't we conduct a fake interview with this winner named Michael Hoover? We'll contact McDonald's and ask them to help us arrange an interview with him, pretending we're from McDonald's and want to interview him about how he feels, how he won, and what he'll do with the money. It's just a marketing ploy, and no one will suspect a thing." So the FBI contacted the head of marketing at McDonald's, and they obtained permission from senior management to involve her. They then informed her of the details, that their Monopoly game had been compromised, and that all the winners over the past years were fraudsters. Of course, the head of marketing was shocked, but after she got over her shock, the investigators told her they needed her help. They wanted her to contact the winner, Michael Hoover, and convince him that McDonald's marketing department wanted to interview him and ask him about his feelings after winning. The FBI's goal was to lure him in and try to extract additional information from him. So the head of marketing contacted Michael Hoover and told him: "We want to interview you. If you allow us, we'll come with a film crew and talk to you briefly, and ask you nice, light questions as part of our marketing campaign." The man agreed, and a date was set. On the agreed day, the film crew went to Michael Hoover's house. The entire crew was FBI agents, except for the head of marketing from McDonald's. There was another team outside wiretapping everything. They entered Michael Hoover's house and even had a large check with one million dollars written on it, ostensibly to take pictures of him with the check, a marketing stunt. These are real shots from the cameras. After that, they sat with him and began asking him questions, and he spoke. The first thing they asked or requested of him was to tell them the story of how he got the million-dollar piece. So he began telling them a fabricated story. He told them: "I was sleeping on the beach, and when I woke up, I found myself covered in sand. So I got up, took my belongings, and went towards the water to wash myself, but by mistake, some of my belongings fell into the water, and among the things that fell was the magazine I had with me." He had a magazine, and as mentioned earlier, they would put the Monopoly game in some magazines in partnership with McDonald's as part of the marketing campaign. So Michael Hoover's magazine fell into the sea. After collecting the rest of his belongings, on his way home, he passed a supermarket to pick up some items. There, he saw the same magazine he had lost, so he decided to buy it again. And when he returned home and opened the magazine, he was surprised by the million-dollar piece. This is the story Michael Hoover told the FBI, and of course, he did not know they were the FBI. To ensure he didn't suspect them, the FBI agents took an additional step. First, they photographed him holding the check at his house. After that, they asked him to take them to the beach where the first magazine was lost, and there again, they photographed him with the check. And then, they went with him to the supermarket where he bought the second magazine, and there they also photographed him with the check, ostensibly to create a marketing story. In the end, they thanked him for his cooperation and left. The investigators did not get anything direct from their meeting with Michael Hoover, but they were hopeful that something would come out of this interview. And indeed, not even half an hour after the FBI left Michael Hoover's house, the wiretapping team heard a new call. Michael Hoover immediately called someone, and in the call, he said: "Hello, A.J." The person he was talking to was named "A.J." So he said: "Hello, A.J., they believed everything I told them, the story that I went to the sea and lost the magazine and then bought another one, and they didn't suspect anything. They asked me some questions and a little bit of casual conversation and left." The second person, "A.J.," replied and said: "Good, good, my friend, you did great." And so, they thought they had fooled the FBI, while they did not know that the FBI was literally listening to their call and recording it. This was the undeniable confirmation that the matter involved fraud, and it gave the FBI new leads they could follow.
Unveiling the "A.J. Gomberg" Network, the Intermediary, and His Link to "Uncle Jerry"
First, they began investigating the identity of the other person on the line with Michael Hoover, the person named "A.J." They learned that his full name was A.J. Gomberg and obtained his information and everything related to him. They discovered that he was a drug dealer, but a small-time one, and he had been imprisoned for 12 years. He had a criminal record. And they began wiretapping his calls, and this is where the doors truly opened for them. "A.J. Gomberg" was clearly distributing the game pieces to different people. He wasn't just distributing the million-dollar piece, but also winning pieces worth 10,000, 25,000, 100,000, and even car and large prize pieces. He was communicating with several people, as if he were a coordinator or an intermediary. But it was clear that he was not the mastermind, because this "A.J." always mentioned the person mentioned at the beginning of the story, "Uncle Jerry," the person the informant mentioned to the FBI. "A.J." always mentioned "Uncle Jerry" in the calls: "Uncle Jerry will bring the piece," "I'll meet Uncle Jerry on such and such day," "Don't let Uncle Jerry get angry." He always repeated his name. Now, investigators needed to find out who this "Uncle Jerry" was.
Identifying "Uncle Jerry's" True Identity and His Role as Security Director at Simon Marketing
Incidentally, "A.J." wasn't calling Uncle Jerry, or perhaps he was calling him from another number. It seemed Uncle Jerry was somewhat cautious. Investigators brought the call records of all previous winners, especially the million-dollar winners, and began searching for a common number that all these winners were calling. At that time, there were no computerized records; all the work was printed, which made the search harder and took longer. But after searching these records, they noticed a number that appeared frequently with different winners. A number that winners called in the days leading up to receiving their prize and in the days following receiving their prize, and then these calls to this number would completely cease. To be precise, it wasn't one number, but several numbers under one person's name. A person whose official name was Jerome Jacobson, but he was known more as Jerry Jacobson, or as his friends called him, "Uncle Jerry." The surprise and shock the FBI found was that this man was the Security Director at Simon Marketing, the company McDonald's contracted with to manage the Monopoly game. When investigators reached this person, they said: "We've got the head of the snake." And immediately, they began wiretapping all his calls, and at the same time, they began investigating him and his past. They discovered that he was a police officer, but he left the police force due to illness. And being a former police officer, this qualified him to be the security director at Simon Marketing. Of course, the FBI wasn't going to raid Simon Marketing and arrest "Uncle Jerry" directly like that; they had to uncover the details of the game and build a strong case against him. They had to discover how he was stealing the winning game pieces.
Exposing "Uncle Jerry's" Breach of Security Procedures in Printing and Distributing Game Pieces
The FBI requested McDonald's assistance to understand the details and procedures Simon Marketing followed in managing the game, how they printed and distributed the game pieces, and what their security measures were. The surprise was that McDonald's management itself did not have these details. So one of the managers arranged an appointment with Simon Marketing to obtain all these game-related details to provide to the FBI. It's truly funny, as the management itself employed an external company and didn't know how this external company managed their game, on which they literally spent hundreds of millions. Anyway, in cooperation with the FBI, a senior McDonald's executive went to Simon Marketing and sat with them and obtained all the details, procedures, and steps they took. Indeed, these procedures confirmed that they took the matter seriously, and there were excellent security measures to protect the game. First, regarding printing, Simon Marketing itself had contracted with an external printing company called Ditto Brothers printing press. This printing press had very high security measures. First, the printing press was equipped with permanent guards 24 hours a day. Any employee or person had to pass through the guards before entering the printing press, and they had to have a card or entry permit. And before entering, they had to write their name and data, sign, and write the time. Even employees who work daily had to go through these procedures. After that, to enter the printing area itself, they had to pass through a second security gate, and they had to have a different permit to enter the printing area. And aside from these security gates, the entire place was full of alarms and surveillance cameras. These were the normal procedures that happened every day. And when they wanted to print the winning game pieces, meaning the pieces that contained the big prizes, the procedures became even stricter. When important game pieces were printed, there was a gate with two locks. Two employees with different codes had to open the gate that led to the important game piece printing area. On this printing day, when the important game pieces were printed, there were representatives from Simon Marketing present at the printing press and watching the important game pieces being printed in front of them. Of course, "Uncle Jerry" was among these observers who came from Simon Marketing because he was the security director there. After the important game pieces were printed, they were put in a handbag, and who took this bag? "Uncle Jerry" literally handcuffed it to his hand. But this bag also had a lock, and the lock required a numerical code. Half the code was with "Uncle Jerry," and the other half was with an accountant from an independent company. This accountant would always accompany him until he delivered the game pieces. After the game pieces were shipped to the shipping station, the trucks were sealed with a special sticker as a stamp. And the observers from Simon Marketing, along with "Uncle Jerry" and the independent accountant, flew by plane to the same destination as the trucks. This destination could be several cities, meaning in various cities across America where there were envelope printing factories. And there, the game pieces were affixed to the containers, cups, and other packaging. As for the important game pieces, meaning the pieces that carried high prizes, the Simon Marketing team, along with observers from Ditto Brothers printing press themselves, supervised the distribution of these pieces onto the containers and packaging. "Uncle Jerry" would arrive carrying the bag handcuffed to his hand, and after that, he would enter his half of the code, and the accountant would come and enter her half of the code, and they would open the bag in front of everyone. And inside the bag was an envelope. This envelope stated the number of game pieces inside, and the envelope had a special sticker as a stamp. If this sticker was tampered with or opened, it would immediately show. "Uncle Jerry" himself would open this envelope and take out the game pieces from it, and everyone's eyes were on him. And after that, they would take these game pieces and affix them to the packaging randomly as they moved on the production line. This means that no one was supposed to know exactly where these game pieces went. And after that, customers were supposed to buy these meals and try their luck to see if they got a winning piece or not. But how did McDonald's ensure that this game piece was indeed genuine when the winner came? The game pieces that had high prizes also had certain features to prevent counterfeiting. For example, a specific letter like the letter "K" that you see here would be slightly cut. And the most important thing they did was write a specific code with invisible ink on the game piece. This code only appeared under ultraviolet light. In short, no one could counterfeit these game pieces.
Confronting Uncle Jerry to Uncover the Theft of Winning Game Pieces
As you can see, the process was complex and had strong security measures. And although "Uncle Jerry" was at the heart of this operation, the FBI was puzzled and could not understand how he managed to steal the game pieces amidst all these people monitoring the process. To discover the secret, they had to complete their investigations. As we said, they were wiretapping Michael Hoover, the first winner mentioned, and they were wiretapping "A.J. Gomberg," the intermediary who apparently brought people in and gave them the game pieces, and "Uncle Jerry," the mastermind of the entire operation. In addition to these three, they were also wiretapping several different million-dollar winners who had won over the past years. But all these wiretaps were not useful, and they did not get any additional information that might benefit them. Here, the investigators realized that they had to do something different. So they came up with a new idea. The idea was to contact the former winners through McDonald's, of course, and tell them that they were holding a celebration and would gather all the former million-dollar winners. Where would this celebration be? In the entertainment city of Las Vegas. Of course, there was no celebration, no gathering, none of that talk. But the idea was to lure the winners with this marketing trick. So McDonald's marketing team was preparing for a big celebration where they would gather the winners of this contest over the past years, and they would take them to the city of fun and entertainment, Las Vegas, and they would travel first class, book hotels, go to the finest restaurants, organize events for them, and make them have a very enjoyable time, all at McDonald's expense as part of their marketing campaign. Here, it was natural for the winners to agree, and this is what happened; most of them agreed. And so, the lure succeeded. After they agreed, they told them: "But as part of this event and marketing campaign, we need to film an interview with you beforehand, and we will show these interviews during the event activities in Las Vegas." And they told them that the interviews would be light and pleasant, asking them how they won the prize and what happened to them afterward. One of the winners they interviewed was named Buddy Fisher. This man was unusually nervous during the interview. He stammered and tried to tell a coherent story, but his words were disorganized due to stress. He was sweating profusely, and his face turned into a puddle of water. The reason, of course, was that he was lying and trying to fabricate a story like Michael Hoover, whom we saw at the beginning of the video. But Michael Hoover at least maintained his composure and managed to invent a story and narrate it well. As for this poor man, he couldn't put two words together. And in the interview, he kept saying: "I'm sorry, forgive me, I'm not used to cameras and these things," as if he was nervous because of the filming and not because he was lying. Anyway, Buddy Fisher, although he could not provide any useful information to the investigators, he would lead the FBI to an important man in the operation. Buddy Fisher was the father of this woman named Robin Colombo. This woman was the wife of this man named Jerry Colombo. Yes, this is another Jerry, not "Uncle Jerry."
The Revelation of "Jerry Colombo" and His Mafia Connections, and His Role as a Key Intermediary
This Jerry Colombo was also one of the winners of a valuable piece. It wasn't the million-dollar piece, but a car piece, and he appeared once in a McDonald's advertisement after winning. Jerry Colombo was actually an important part of managing this operation, and he worked directly with "Uncle Jerry." He was the first and largest intermediary who took the game pieces from "Uncle Jerry" and distributed them to people. "Uncle Jerry" did not have a large network of acquaintances, and I think that at first he distributed some of the pieces to his acquaintances and close associates, but after that he did not find anyone new to give the pieces to. So, he needed to enlist the help of someone else to distribute these pieces, especially since these winners were supposed to be spread out, because if people noticed a family connection between them and knew each other, the matter would be exposed immediately. "Uncle Jerry" met Jerry Colombo by chance at an airport. Jerry Colombo was not an ordinary person; his family, the Colombo family, is one of the most famous Italian mafia families in America. If you search for the largest mafia families in America, you will find five families, including the Colombo family. The Colombo family is a large and extensive family, and Jerry Colombo had a wide network of acquaintances inside and outside the family, which made him the suitable intermediary to distribute these game pieces.
Details of the "Uncle Jerry" and "Jerry Colombo" Agreement and the Fraudulent Proceeds
The agreement between "Uncle Jerry" and "Jerry Colombo" was that "Uncle Jerry" would sell him the million-dollar game pieces for 50,000 dollars, and he, in turn, would dispose of them and distribute them to the right people. You might wonder: "Wait, 'Uncle Jerry' only gets 50,000 dollars out of a million? That seems like a small amount." But it depends on several factors. The first factor is that "Uncle Jerry" can now sell the game pieces immediately to Jerry Colombo without the hassle of searching for people himself, which is a convenience factor. The second factor is that the one-million-dollar prize is not paid by McDonald's in one lump sum to the winner, but is distributed over 20 years, with McDonald's paying the winner 50,000 dollars each year until the million is complete. In addition, the winner must pay taxes on the prize, and in the end, they might only be left with about 35,000 dollars out of the 50,000 after paying taxes. These factors combined are what made "Uncle Jerry" accept 50,000 dollars for each million-dollar game piece. In addition, he had other game pieces he sold, such as 10,000, 25,000, 100,000, and even car and boat game pieces, among others. Of course, "Uncle Jerry" sold these game pieces at different prices depending on the value of the prize and the ease of receiving it. For example, a car prize is received immediately by its owner, unlike the million-dollar prize, which the owner waits 20 years for. So, "Uncle Jerry" might take a high amount for a car piece compared to a million-dollar piece. I hope the picture is clear now. As for Jerry Colombo, when he chose someone from his acquaintances or those around him, he would take 50% of the prize value, but for a certain period. For example, from the million-dollar prize, he would take 50% for five years. And this agreement might sometimes differ depending on the person's closeness and status to him.
The Gloria Brown Case: Involvement in Fraud and Negative Repercussions
Jerry Colombo would act on the value and determine how much he would take from each person he gave the game piece to. Jerry Colombo began distributing these game pieces to his close associates, then expanded to include distant relatives and friends of friends. In the end, he had to try to make the winners not have a clear relationship or family connection. But his wife, Robin, who was mentioned earlier, noticed that he always chose white men from roughly the same area. So she told him: "Why don't you diversify? I have someone who might be suitable." He asked her: "Who?" She said: "I have a friend named Gloria Brown." Gloria Brown would be a Black woman living in Florida, meaning her characteristics were completely different from the characteristics of the people Jerry Colombo usually chose. Gloria Brown was a single mother with a young son, and their circumstances were difficult. When her friend Robin Colombo offered her the opportunity, she felt it was her chance, as such an amount would change her life 180 degrees. After that, Robin introduced her to her husband Jerry Colombo, and she exited the picture, and communication became only between Gloria Brown and Jerry Colombo. Jerry immediately began telling her the conditions, and he told her that he would take 50% of the prize value for five years; that is, when she was given 50,000 dollars each year, he would take 25,000 dollars. Gloria said: "Okay." Then Jerry told her: "But before I give you the piece, you must arrange for an amount and give it to me in advance." She asked him: "How much?" He told her: "Fifty thousand dollars." This means that Jerry Colombo wasn't even paying the 50,000 dollars to "Uncle Jerry" out of his own pocket; he was taking it from the people he gave the game pieces to. So Gloria said: "I don't have that amount." He told her: "Figure it out. If you don't bring this amount, you won't get the piece." Of course, Gloria was at a loss and didn't know what to do. The only solution for her was to take out a loan and mortgage her house against the loan. But was it reasonable to give this amount to someone she didn't know well in exchange for a piece that she didn't know if it was indeed the million-dollar piece or just a scam? It was true that she knew his wife, but their relationship wasn't that close. Gloria was very hesitant, but in the end, she felt that this was the opportunity of a lifetime and that she would regret it if she missed it. So she went and took the loan and mortgaged her house, and she met Jerry Colombo and literally gave him the amount in the street, as if it were a suspicious deal. Gloria says that she had never held such an amount, 50,000 dollars in cash in her hand, and that giving it to someone like that in this way was painful, and the fear she felt was terrifying. And by the way, Jerry Colombo told her that he would take the money and then bring her the piece, meaning that the delivery would not be at the same moment because he had to go and buy it from "Uncle Jerry." At this time, Gloria thought that Jerry Colombo would take the money and disappear, and indeed, it was a foolish move for her to give such a large amount to a stranger without anything in return except mere words. And here you realize how many people can easily fall victim to scams if the scammer knows what he is doing.
Gloria Brown's Suffering After Her Fake Win and "Jerry Colombo's" Extortion
Fortunately for her, Jerry Colombo was not a scammer, and it was in his interest to return to her with the million-dollar piece so that she would receive the prize and he would receive his share. After several days, he came to her with the million-dollar piece and took her to a McDonald's branch, asking her to give them the piece as if she had won. Indeed, things went perfectly. McDonald's took the piece, and after examining it, they announced that she was the new winner of the one-million-dollar prize. But as soon as she received the first installment, which was 50,000 dollars, Jerry immediately went to her and took half of the amount, 25,000 dollars. And remember that this amount was subject to taxes, and all the taxes were on Gloria. This means that out of the 50,000 dollars she received, she would pay approximately 15,000 dollars in taxes, and 25,000 dollars would be taken by Jerry Colombo, leaving her with only 10,000 dollars. And the situation would continue like this for five years. You might say: "What's the problem? She earns 10,000 every year, and she didn't lose anything." The problem is that she took out a loan and had to pay it back. This loan would deplete the remaining 10,000, plus an additional amount on top of it. This means Gloria was actually losing money in the first few years, and she hadn't planned for that. She says she struggled just to live and survive during that period with her son. And Jerry Colombo was not cooperative or understanding with her at all; he threatened her that if she didn't pay his share, things would happen to her that were not to be wished for. In the end, he was a mafia and gang member. And imagine that Gloria would not complete these five years before the matter was exposed by the FBI, and she would later be prosecuted and forced to return even the money she took from McDonald's, and even the share Jerry Colombo took. But all these matters will be discussed later at the end of the story. The bottom line is that Gloria would come out not with zero, but with a crushing negative amount.
The Fall of Jerry Colombo and His Mistress's Involvement in Tax Debts
As for Jerry Colombo, he naturally took his share from her, and he took his share from several winners, so he quickly accumulated large sums and became wealthy. He began to enjoy this money and spend it lavishly on his family and himself, and he also began to indulge his desires and do whatever he wanted without consequence. On one occasion, he had a flight. When he entered the airport and went to the counter, he met an airline employee named Lee Cassano. This employee, like him, was of Italian descent. So he began to talk to her and flirt with her, and they got to know each other. There was continuous communication between them, and indeed, he began to cheat on his wife with her. A relationship developed between them, and he would go out with her, spend money on her, and even buy her expensive things. This relationship lasted for several months. On one occasion, he offered her a winning McDonald's game piece worth 100,000 dollars. This 100,000 dollars was paid immediately, meaning she took all of it. And after she gave the piece to McDonald's, they sent her a check for this 100,000 dollars. And when she went to cash the check at the bank, Jerry was standing over her. And as soon as she received the money, he took it from her and told her: "I'll pay some people their share and I'll give you the rest later." Here, the girl was scared, because she was the one who received the 100,000 dollars, and this amount had a tax of about 30,000 dollars, which is a large amount, and this amount was solely her responsibility, and she had to pay it to the tax department, and she would be legally responsible for it. But now Jerry had taken all of the 100,000 dollars. She had her doubts from the beginning, but these doubts multiplied when Jerry always ignored anything she said. When she called him and asked: "Where's the money? There are taxes and these things," he would tell her: "Later, later, I'll give you the money, don't worry." And his tone with her kept changing every day until he got angry if she mentioned the subject. From this point, Jerry Colombo's life would go from bad to worse.
The Decline of "Jerry Colombo's" Life and His Tragic End
On one occasion, while he was talking to his secret mistress, this airline employee, on the phone, his wife overheard him, so she walked in, took the phone from him, and started yelling at the girl, and she started yelling at him and turned everything upside down, even threatening to call the FBI and expose him. From that moment on, their relationship deteriorated from bad to worse, and their problems increased, even though they had a son, and perhaps this son was the reason Robin did not leave him or escalate the matter and carry out her threat and go expose him. After that, Jerry Colombo did another thing: he tried to open a nightclub, meaning a bar and dance club and these things, and he would bring girls and dancers, and he even faced problems with the government. The government tried to close his club more than once, and each time he would try to open it again under a different name or method. And after that, he even registered this club as a church, I don't know how, to circumvent the laws. And he even appeared on television more than once talking about his case, and people would sometimes attack him in calls because he turned a dance club into a church and many other things. Even "Uncle Jerry" was not happy with his media appearances in this way, because this might endanger his work, even if it was a separate case that had nothing to do with it. The important thing is that this nightclub case increased the problems between Jerry Colombo and his wife Robin. His wife began to tell him: "You go hire girls and dancers? I know your goal and what you do with them behind my back." And imagine that one day, while they were in the car, and their young son was sitting in the back seat and was asleep. As they were driving, an argument broke out between them about these same topics, and the son woke up screaming. And during this chaos, Robin, the wife, hit a truck. After the accident, ambulances and police cars naturally arrived. The wife and son came out almost unharmed, with some minor injuries. But Jerry Colombo, due to his large size, suffered severe injuries and internal bleeding, and he was transferred to intensive care. And there, only a few days passed before he died. His death was in 1998, before the FBI began investigating this case, as they began the investigation in 2001. Jerry Colombo's death was perhaps a positive thing for many winners, such as Gloria Brown, who was paying him an annual share (the fifty percent he was taking). But perhaps the most affected was his secret mistress, the airline employee, whom he did not return the money to, and who was now indebted with taxes amounting to 30,000 dollars.
Custody Battle Reveals the True Informant
Of course, Jerry Colombo's family, especially his brother, whose name was Frank Colombo, and his mother, whose name was Ma Colombo, and his other relatives, were angry with Robin, his wife. Some of them even accused her of causing the accident deliberately because of the problems between them. Robin denied this accusation and cut ties with them and took her son, although his grandmother, Ma Colombo, who was Jerry's mother, objected and wanted to take the boy herself. Fortunately for the grandmother, Robin got herself into other trouble, including drug cases and check fraud cases, and Robin was imprisoned. After her husband's death, their house was robbed and everything in it was plundered, furniture, belongings, jewelry, everything. Even now, the thief is not exactly known, but Jerry Colombo was a mafia man, and he certainly had many enemies lurking. Robin refused to live a lifestyle less than what she had lived with her husband, and that's why she resorted to fraud and tried to cash bad checks, and even got into drugs. In the end, she was arrested and imprisoned. So custody of the boy went to his grandmother as she wanted.
End of the Fraud Case and the Fate of Those Involved
You might now wonder: "What do these details have to do with the story? And where were we?" Believe me, these details have an important connection to the story, so remember them, and we will return to them later. Now back to "Uncle Jerry." "Uncle Jerry" lost his most important intermediary and distributor when Jerry Colombo died in 1998. They had been working together for more than eight years. But now he had to find new intermediaries to distribute the game pieces. One of these new intermediaries he found was a person named A.J. Gomberg, the same person who gave the game piece to Michael Hoover, the first winner mentioned in the video. "A.J. Gomberg" had a criminal record and was a former inmate, having been imprisoned for drug trafficking. He was just a small-time dealer, but this charge landed him in prison for 12 years. As soon as he was released from prison, one of his friends who knew "Uncle Jerry" offered him the opportunity, and he immediately agreed despite having recently been released from prison. In a short period, he became one of "Uncle Jerry's" largest intermediaries and distributors. But he wasn't the only intermediary. The FBI learned about a second intermediary named Dwight Baker through wiretapping. Dwight Baker's story is another story in itself. He met "Uncle Jerry" through contracting work, as he was a contractor, and I believe he built a house or a farm for "Uncle Jerry." They got to know each other and their relationship grew stronger. In the end, "Uncle Jerry" offered him the million-dollar piece, but the price was to pay 100,000 dollars in advance. Dwight Baker wanted the piece, but he did not have 100,000 dollars. So he told "Uncle Jerry": "I don't have 100,000 dollars, but I think I know someone who might have 100,000 dollars." So "Uncle Jerry" told him: "As you wish, but the most important thing is that he is a reliable person." So Dwight Baker told him: "Don't worry, this person is trustworthy and close to me." Dwight Baker went to his adopted son; he wasn't his real son, but he was like a son to him, as he had raised him since he was young. This son's name was George Chandler, and he was a businessman and investor who had wealth. When Dwight Baker went to him, he told him: "Look, son, I have a great opportunity for you." So George Chandler said: "Tell me." So Dwight Baker said: "I have a friend who is going through a divorce, and he won the million-dollar piece in the McDonald's game, and he doesn't want to cash this piece so that his wife doesn't take half of the prize, and he wants to sell it for 100,000 dollars." For those who don't know, in America, when a couple divorces, each takes half of the property and money, even if the husband is the one who works hard and earns the money. After the divorce, the wife takes half of what he has. This means that Dwight Baker presented the matter to his son in a somewhat circuitous way. He didn't tell him that this person was selling the game pieces, but rather that this person was going through a divorce and wanted 100,000 dollars in cash. The son saw that the matter was good and worthwhile. It is true that he would wait 20 years to get the entire prize, and it would be subject to high taxes, but within three or four years he would recover the 100,000 and start making a profit. So, he considered it a worthwhile investment, and George Chandler agreed, and the deal went through, and indeed he became the new million-dollar winner. These are real shots from the celebration that McDonald's held for him in its restaurant. Dwight Baker did not get anything out of this piece because he would not take money or a percentage from his son. But here, the money he saw tempted him, and he began to work as an intermediary for "Uncle Jerry," and he began to bring people and sell them game pieces. And since he was a contractor, he had a network of acquaintances of well-off people who had money to buy the game pieces. Of course, the FBI learned about Dwight Baker through wiretapping him, and then they began wiretapping Dwight Baker's own calls. And through these calls, the FBI learned that they would meet soon. So they set up an ambush for them and filmed them meeting in a parking lot to exchange money and game pieces. These are real shots from the meeting. This ambush was just for filming so that the FBI could add it to the evidence they had. After reaching this stage, the FBI felt that they had gathered enough evidence to build a strong case against the defendants, led by "Uncle Jerry." They knew all the parties and people involved in this fraud operation, and almost everything was clear to them. The only thing that was not clear was how "Uncle Jerry" managed to steal the game pieces despite the security measures mentioned earlier. But this matter was not essential to the case, as the things they had gathered were enough to prosecute him. And most likely, they would be able to extract the confession and these details from "Uncle Jerry" himself. On August 21, 2001, arrests began. They first arrested about eight people, led by "Uncle Jerry," and the intermediaries "A.J. Gomberg" and "Dwight Baker." They did not arrest the winners, but they sent some investigators to interrogate them at their homes. And all this happened at the same moment, as there was coordination between different FBI offices in different states. As for the winners whom the investigators went to meet, anyone who refused to cooperate might be arrested, but none of them refused to cooperate. After this wave of arrests, the case was revealed in the media and caused a great stir. The names and photos of those involved were revealed, led by "Uncle Jerry," who hired a strong lawyer to defend him. After this major scandal, McDonald's issued a formal apology to customers, saying that it would take responsibility and correct the situation. And of course, it immediately terminated its contract with Simon Marketing, which was responsible for managing the game. And after this scandal, all the companies that had contracted with Simon Marketing also terminated their contracts with them, and this company literally collapsed overnight. Its stock price dropped from 100 dollars to 50 cents (half a dollar). And it is said that this was the biggest stock collapse of a company in one day at that time. As for Ditto Brothers printing press, which was responsible for printing, the FBI raided it to seize all the evidence they could obtain. This printing press would also close and collapse after the case. This means that this man, "Uncle Jerry," literally cut off the livelihoods of hundreds of people. "Uncle Jerry's" lawyer told him not to confess or cooperate with the prosecution except in exchange for assistance in obtaining a reduced sentence. A case like this could easily land him in prison for 20 years. So they obtained a promise from the prosecution that they would help him and ask the judge to reduce the sentence in exchange for "Uncle Jerry" pleading guilty and fully cooperating and revealing all the details and people who were involved in the operation. So "Uncle Jerry" revealed everything and told them how he was stealing the game pieces. If you recall, we talked about how they distributed the game pieces and took them from the printing press. "Uncle Jerry" carried the important game pieces in the handcuffed bag, and he was always accompanied by an independent accountant. Half of the code that opened the bag was with "Uncle Jerry," and the other half was with the accountant. The accountant, by the way, was interrogated by the FBI, and they concluded that she had nothing to do with the matter. After "Uncle Jerry" and the accountant took these game pieces from the printing press, as we said, they traveled by plane to other cities where the factories for containers and packaging where the game pieces were affixed were located. During these trips, of course, they passed through airports. And "Uncle Jerry" and the accountant were always together, except when he went to the restroom; she certainly would not enter the restroom with him. "Uncle Jerry" managed to figure out the other half of the secret code that opened the bag, which was with the accountant, in some way, most likely he saw her out of the corner of his eye as she entered the number. This means that "Uncle Jerry" now knew the secret code that opened the bag. But even after opening the bag, the envelope inside had a special sticker; if he removed this sticker, it would immediately show that the envelope had been opened. So what did he do to solve this problem? Simply, he would take out a knife and open the sticker and take the game pieces inside, one of which was the million-dollar prize, and the rest of the game pieces all had big prizes like 100,000 and cars, etc. And "Uncle Jerry" would bring different game pieces with him, ordinary game pieces that did not contain prizes or simple prizes like meals, and he would put these ordinary game pieces in place of the game pieces he took from the envelope. And he knew the exact number of game pieces because the number was written on the envelope. Okay, now everything is fine, except for the sticker. How did he solve this sticker problem? Somehow, "Uncle Jerry" possessed the same stickers that Simon Marketing used on the envelope. So, quite simply, he would put a new sticker over the old sticker perfectly, and no one noticed this for the past 12 years. The question is how "Uncle Jerry" got these stickers? According to him, he received a package by mistake from Simon Marketing that contained these stickers. Of course, many doubted his words, but no one could prove that he was lying. If you want my opinion, and this is just my conclusion, he most likely obtained the stickers through an employee or someone in the company, and he fabricated the package story so as not to implicate that person. But this is just a conclusion. Anyway, after "Uncle Jerry" swapped the game pieces in the bathroom, he would take the bag and continue his journey with the accountant and go to the various factories that made the containers and packaging, and they would affix these game pieces in front of a number of observers from Simon Marketing and Ditto Brothers printing press. And everyone believed that these were the big prize game pieces because they saw with their own eyes the bag and the envelope with a sticker being opened in front of them. After these confessions by "Uncle Jerry," almost everything was revealed. And of course, they confirmed the names of the winners they already knew. And charges were filed against 53 people from these various winners over the past years. These 53 people pleaded guilty that they had bought the game pieces, except for seven of them. These seven said they did not know that these game pieces were stolen. One of these seven was George Chandler, whom his adopted father, Dwight Baker, offered the game piece to, telling him that the person who got it wanted to sell it due to divorce. George Chandler was initially found guilty, but he kept appealing, and the case remained in the courts until he was acquitted in 2004. But during these years, his reputation was greatly damaged, and his businesses were greatly affected. And all this damage was mainly caused by his adopted father, Dwight Baker. So it was natural that he was angry with him and upset for a while, but after a while, they forgave each other and reconciled. Most of the remaining winners were not sentenced to prison but were placed under house arrest, perhaps for a year or two. On top of that, the court ordered them to return all the money they had previously taken, and those who did not have money would continue to pay a monthly amount. Even the intermediaries did not go to prison but were placed under house arrest with large monthly installments. What mitigated the charge against them was that no one knew where "Uncle Jerry" was getting these game pieces from. No one asked, and he did not tell anyone. This means that it is not appropriate to treat them as his direct partners, although this is almost what was happening. The only one who went to prison because of this case was "Uncle Jerry," but due to his cooperation with the prosecution, he was sentenced to only three years. But he was also ordered to pay 12 million dollars, but this amount would be paid in comfortable installments, 370 dollars per month. This means he will most likely die without even completing 100,000 dollars. And it is highly likely that he is hiding a respectable amount of cash, reserve funds, and most likely he had buried a few million somewhere, because even today he still has a beautiful and tidy house and cars, and he even currently lives with his seventh wife. Yes, this is a detail that was not mentioned. Imagine he was married seven times! This means that many people believe that "Uncle Jerry" did not receive the appropriate punishment at all, especially since he destroyed the lives of many people, especially the people who worked at Simon Marketing and Ditto Brothers printing press, and even the winners who won these prizes, because in the end they ended up with taxes and debts. Gloria Brown, whom we talked about, for example, had not finished paying off the loan she took, and now she has to pay an additional monthly amount to compensate for what she took from the prizes. This means that the crime "Uncle Jerry" committed was not without victims. And to save McDonald's face after this scandal, they announced that they would distribute 25 million dollars, which is approximately the amount stolen from these prizes, to random customers.
The Final Revelation of the True Informant's Identity: Jerry Colombo's Mother
With that, the case has ended. But a puzzling question remained: who was the informant who contacted the FBI and started this whole case? The informant without whom this matter most likely would not have been exposed. Do you remember the airline employee who was in a relationship with Jerry Colombo, the mafia man? Do you remember how he made her win the 100,000 dollar prize and then took the money and left her in debt with taxes? What happened was that this employee, after Jerry Colombo's death in the accident, felt that she was in trouble. Who would pay these taxes? So she went to the tax department and told them the story to save herself. Of course, she didn't know everything, but she told them what she knew. And since then, no one has contacted her, and they haven't asked her for the taxes she owes, and they haven't told her anything about what's happening. So the airline employee thought she was the informant who started this whole operation. But for those who don't know, the tax department in America is a federal agency in itself, and they have agents, investigators, and high budgets, and they can open investigations of this size and larger. So they would not go to the FBI with a case like this without sharing the glory. And if you remember, at the beginning of the story, I told you that the informant was the one who contacted the FBI directly, and the informant told them about "Uncle Jerry." And the airline employee originally did not know "Uncle Jerry," and she only contacted the tax agency. This means that the airline employee was not the informant, even though she thought so. And of course, the FBI did not reveal the identity of the informant. But the one who revealed the informant was one of his family members. Of course, they revealed him because now the matter is old and no one cares about it. This informant was a member of the Colombo family, which is the family of Jerry Colombo who died in the accident. This man's name is Frank Colombo, and he was Jerry Colombo's brother. Frank gave an interview, and during the interview, he said that the real informant was actually his mother, whose name is Ma Colombo, who is, of course, Jerry Colombo's mother. Surprise, isn't it? But what was the reason? What prompted the mother to report? I mentioned to you that Jerry Colombo and his wife Robin had a son, and his grandmother, Ma Colombo, wanted to gain custody of him. But his custody, of course, would go to his mother, Robin. And Robin, as we mentioned, after her husband's death, their house was robbed, so she tried to live the same lifestyle and got into check fraud cases and drug cases and was imprisoned. And custody of the boy indeed went to his grandmother. But years passed, and Robin was about to be released from prison, and the grandmother might lose custody of the boy again. So she went and reported the matter to the FBI so that Robin would be imprisoned for an additional period. And indeed, during the FBI's investigations, Robin was among the accused because she was helping her husband in the operation and even choosing the winners with him. And as a result, and because she was a direct partner, her prison sentence was increased. This means that "Uncle Jerry" was not the only one imprisoned. Robin, who was already in prison, had her sentence increased, and the grandmother got what she wanted, as she retained custody of the son. It is also strange that they are all reconciled today, the grandmother, the mother Robin, and the boy; they all live in harmony as if nothing had ever happened. It seems that the reconciliation was due to the efforts of the son who grew up and had his own family. And years are capable of erasing a lot of hatred and animosity between people, especially if there are family ties between them.