“From 1989 to 2001, there were almost no legitimate million dollar winners,” recounts one talking head. Well, that’s because an ex-cop was secretly running an elaborate scheme that made him—and a number of his accomplices—very rich. HBO’s series, which, to be clear, isn’t based on the Daily Beast’s reporting, looks to encompass a number of the major players as it unravels the story of “Uncle Jerry,” a “freakin’ gangster” who spun together a scheme that, per one participant, “wrecked so many people’s lives.”
Here’s a full synopsis:
This documentary series chronicles the stranger-than-fiction story of an ex-cop turned security auditor who rigged the McDonald’s Monopoly game promotion for a decade, stealing millions of dollars and building a vast network of co-conspirators across the U.S. The series draws on exclusive firsthand accounts and archival footage, featuring: the FBI agents who brought down the gaming scam; McDonald’s corporate executives, who were themselves defrauded; the lawyers who tried the case; and the culprits and prizewinners who profited from the complicated scheme, as well as the individuals who were often unwittingly duped into being a part of the ruse.
James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte helmed the series, with Mark Wahlberg serving as an executive producer. Might it be a bit unethical for the part-owner of Wahlburgers to produce a documentary smearing his competition? Probably!
