21 Indicted in Scheme to Rig McDonald’s Games

A federal grand jury in Florida indicted 21 people for conspiring to defraud McDonald’s Corp. by rigging promotional games run by the largest fast-food chain.

Jerome Jacobson, security director for Los Angeles-based Simon Marketing Inc., the company hired to run the contests, was accused of stealing winning game pieces and distributing them to conspirators. McDonald’s has said none of its employees were involved.

Jacobson was charged with embezzling more than $20 million worth of McDonald’s promotional game pieces.