While the fraud appeared to have been perpetrated by only one key employee of the promotion company, and not by the company's management, eight people were originally arrested, leading to a total of 21 indicted individuals. Even though the fraud was perpetrated without McDonald's knowledge, the McDonald's Corporation voluntarily attempted to rectify the situation by issuing payouts to new (legitimate) winners, awarding five $1 million annuity prizes, and fifty $100,000 prizes over a five-day period. The scheme was uncovered when one of the participants informed the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The associates won almost all of the top prizes between 19, including McDonald's giveaways that did not have the Monopoly theme.
Jacobson, was able to remove the most expensive game pieces, which he then passed to associates who would redeem them and share the proceeds. A subcontracting company called Simon Marketing (a then-subsidiary of Cyrk), which had been hired by McDonald's to organize and promote the game, failed to recognize a flaw in its procedures, and the chief of security, Jerome P. In 2000, the US promotion was halted after fraud was uncovered. McDonald's had a relationship with Simon Worldwide Inc., which was responsible for the distribution of the contest pieces, and the awarding of major prizes. Laws generally forbid a company from administering its own contests, in order to prevent fraud and to ensure that all prizes are given away. Like many merchants, McDonald's offered sweepstakes to draw customers into its restaurants.