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To: Glenn D. Rudolph who wrote (130394)	8/21/2001 11:05:49 PM
From: Victor Lazlo	Respond to of 164684

WOW! AMZN responded accordingly, falling almost enough to exactly match the new target price! LOL ! And my target price is only $9.89 !! LOL! Victor

To: Glenn D. Rudolph who wrote (130394)	8/21/2001 11:09:14 PM
From: Victor Lazlo	Respond to of 164684

Hey Glenn, where's the beef ?!? Tuesday August 21, 5:52 pm Eastern Time FBI arrests eight in McDonald's game fraud By Christopher Doering and Jeremy Pelofsky WASHINGTON, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The FBI said on Tuesday it arrested eight people for allegedly rigging McDonald's popular game promotions, including ``Monopoly'' and ``Who Wants to Be A Millionaire,'' and defrauding the fast-food chain out of more than $13 million in prizes over the last six years. Jerome Jacobson, an employee of Simon Marketing Inc. which controlled the distribution of the games, allegedly embezzled winning game pieces and gave them to friends and associates, the FBI said. The recruits agreed to act as winners of various prizes and to share the winnings with Jacobson and his group, according to the FBI. Simon Marketing is a unit of promotional giant Simon Worldwide Inc. (NasdaqNM:SWWI - news). ``Those involved in this type of corruption will find out breaking the law is not a game,'' Attorney General John Ashcroft said. ``This fraud scheme denied McDonald's customers a fair and equal chance of winning.'' McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:MCD - news) said it cooperated with the federal investigation into the suspected fraud surrounding the game promotions and would begin new ones to make up for the rigged games. Typically, the games offer a range of prizes such as $1 million in cash, cars and electronics goods. The FBI's investigation, dubbed ``Final Answer'' a phrase made popular by Walt Disney Co.'s (NYSE:DIS - news) ABC-TV game show, ``Millionaire,'' is ongoing, while the alleged fraud dates back to 1995, Ashcroft said. Those arrested included Linda and Noah Baker of Westminster, South Carolina; John Davis of Granbury, Texas; Andrew Glomb of Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Michael Hoover of Westerly, Rhode Island; Ronald Hughey of Anderson, South Carolina; Brenda Phenis of Fair Play, South Carolina and Jacobson of Lawrenceville, Georgia. MORE ARRESTS POSSIBLE A spokesman for the FBI said that while it was early in the investigation, ``it is conceivable there could be more'' people charged with fraud in the case. Law enforcement officials said they have confiscated assets and vehicles. The suspects will face felony charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The charges were filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Jacksonville. If convicted, each individual could receive a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine per count. McDonald's said none of the eight suspects were employed by the company, and that it ``was victimized by a long-time supplier and a sophisticated inside game of fraud and deception.'' The FBI began its investigation in April 2000, and the fast-food company first learned of the probe one month later. An FBI spokesman said the agency asked McDonald's to proceed with this year's ``Monopoly'' promotion so it could gather additional evidence. ``McDonald's stayed in this promotion long enough to let us, the FBI, get together information to go get a court authorized wiretap and to get evidence,'' the spokesman said. The Oak Brook, Illinois-based company said it will begin a new $10-million giveaway game promotion to compensate customers for money lost through the alleged theft, Chief Executive Jack Greenberg said in a statement. ``McDonald's is committed to giving our customers a chance to win every dollar that has been stolen by this criminal ring. This initial $10 million giveaway is the first important step toward fulfilling this commitment,'' Greenberg said. TOUGH TIMES AT GOLDEN ARCHES The alleged fraud came at a difficult time for the world's largest restaurant company. In recent quarters, its profits have been under pressure, due to waning European demand and a strong U.S. dollar. ``While I think something like this probably doesn't help, I think it's pretty clear here that McDonald's wasn't at fault,'' said Damon Brundage, restaurant industry analyst at Raymond James and Associates. ``I think it will blow over relatively quickly. The company's near-term response is the correct one.'' McDonald's said it would end its relationship with Simon Marketing. To ensure integrity of future promotions, it created an independent task force to review all procedures. The group will be headed by Dan Webb, a partner with the law firm of Winston & Strawn. Simon Marketing, based in Los Angeles, was not contacted during the investigation, and first learned of the investigation this morning, government officials said. Simon Marketing declined to comment. Shares of McDonald's closed down 5 cents to $30 on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. Simon Worldwide shares were halted at $3.05 Tuesday on Nasdaq.