Episode four of the HBO docuseries shows how Uncle Jerry started expanding his fraudulent enterprise.
A forgotten fraud case is finally getting the nationwide attention it deserves. An addictive HBO docuseries, McMillions: The True Story of the $24 Million McDonald’s Monopoly Game Fraud, is chronicling a man’s decade-long scheme to con the fast food chain’s hugely popular promotional game out of millions of dollars in prize money. But he wasn’t alone. Not only did Jerry handpick the winners, but his criminal enterprise expanded to ex-cons and unsuspecting co-conspirators until the FBI eventually brought the entire ring down.
Directed by James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte, the six-part docuseries takes audiences down an unbelievable rabbit hole of greed, deception, and revenge as people from every side of the case speak out on camera. Some of the key players include rookie FBI agent Doug Mathews, Gennaro “Jerry” Colombo of the New York Colombo crime family, widow Robin Colombo, her brother- and sister-in-law, Frank and Heather Colombo, and several of the million-dollar “winners” recounting their experiences in Jerome “Uncle Jerry” Jacobson’s scheme.
Halfway through its run, episode four shows how Uncle Jerry expanded his enterprise to include ex-con Andrew Glomb and Mormon real estate developer Dwight Baker, who even convinced his foster son to redeem a million-dollar winning ticket. In ET’s exclusive sneak peek of the episode above, Glomb explains how participation in the fraud really didn’t generate as much cash as one hoped.
“Greed certainly is at the root of it. The fact that he helped pull off this conspiracy for well over a decade is incredible,” Lazarte tells ET, adding that if Uncle Jerry “had quit at year nine, or even before that last year, chances of him getting caught would have been pretty slim.”
Instead, Jacobson’s greed got the best of him. By expanding his enterprise and playing the game one more time, he exposed himself and everyone else involved.
McMillions: The True Story of the $24 Million McDonald’s Monopoly Game Fraud airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HBO. Previous episodes are available to stream on HBO Go/Now.
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