Remember the McDonald's fraud thread? Here's a bizarre update (1 Viewer)

[Joseph S]

I'm absolutely floored. I thought it was going to be a contest. Note that I'm not in any way upset about this man's good fortune, but this looks like the worst form of self agrandizement by McDonald's.
If they give the money selectively away to homeless folks are we supposed to forget the fraud???
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Formerly homeless day laborer receives $1 million in McDonald's giveaway
By Associated Press, 09/02/01
HOLLY HILL, Fla. -- McDonald's hand-picked a formerly homeless day laborer and gave him $1 million as part of the restaurant chain's effort to restore consumer confidence in its sweepstakes promotions.
Patrick Collier, 35, and his fiancee, 29-year-old Sandi Fabian, had been frequenting the restaurant for about six weeks and lived across the street in a hotel room they shared with Collier's mother.
Corporate managers, who said they picked Collier at random, approached the two as they sat down just after 10 a.m. Saturday to have breakfast.
"I thought I had done something wrong, but I was confused when they handed me this certificate telling me I had won a million dollars," Collier said.
Just months ago Callier and Fabian said they were homeless, sleeping on cardboard boxes and earning $50 a day as laborers when they could find work.
"I'm getting a Harley," Collier said, "and a couple of houses."
"And one for me. He always said he'd buy me a house," added his mother, Judy LaBounty.
McDonald's said its restaurant in Holly Hill, about five miles north of Daytona Beach, was one of five selected at random to distribute five $1 million grand prizes. Fifty people will also be given $100,000 awards during the giveaway, which runs through Monday.
McDonald's announced the promotion in the wake of an FBI investigation last month, which found that an employee of a marketing company contracted to run McDonald's Monopoly game allegedly stole more than $13 million in winnings.
Nancy Izquierdo, a McDonald's spokeswoman, said team members choose someone to receive the prize without any criteria.
"It's just a matter of being in the right place at the right time," she said Sunday.

 

[Carl Johnson]

I understand why they are giving away the cash but they could have put a better spin on the situation. If some homeless guy were to win at random then it would be cool, but just giving it to him doesn't feel like it is any better than the first scam.

 

[Scott L]

That guy is going to buy a couple of houses with $1 million (and maybe another for his mother)? I sure hope he knows the costs it takes to keep them maintained, he might end up having to work more to pay off everything in the end.
Mo' money mo' problems, but for a million I'd take mo' problems anyday!

 

[Brian Perry]

I agree that this is a ridiculous way to make up for the contest scandal. For them to hand pick the "winners" is no better than the guy who fixed the original contest. Are they f'ed in the head? They say there was no criteria for who they picked? Yeah, right -- it is just luck that they picked a homeless guy and are playing up that angle. How would it sound if they randomly picked a wealthy guy and gave him a million?
This reeks.
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Home Theater Pictures
[Edited last by Brian Perry on September 03, 2001 at 12:06 PM]

 

[Glenn Overholt]

Where have all of you guys been? Mickey-D's announced that they were going to do that as soon as the scandal broke. You just had to be in the right place at the right time.
Glenn

 

[MikeAlletto]

The whole thing that makes it smell worse than the fixed games is the last sentence:

Nancy Izquierdo, a McDonald's spokeswoman, said team members choose someone to receive the prize without any criteria.

Hmmm...unless it is choosen by a computer randomly picking numbers or drawing numbers out of a hat then the team members had some criteria they just don't want to admit it. Because the spokeswoman admitted that a group of people get to pick the winners isn't that just as bad as fixing the game and making one of their friends win???
"Who should we pick? Hey, how about that guy, I've seen him in here every morning for the past 6 weeks. He's not very clean and neat dressed. It will make great PR for us. Yeah, lets pick him."
Bah

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Michael Alletto
Mike's DVD List

 

[brentl]

I'm sure we all agree that this was a very poorly implemented contest. The chances of winning in a small store is quite slim.
That makes the odds far from good.
Brent L

 

[Philip_G]

I wonder how much houses run where that guys lives, if he keeps $600,000 after taxes and wants to buy a couple houses.. I hope the property tax is low there because I couldn't afford it.

 

[Reginald Trent]

I bet he'll be back on the streets soon. He will probably run thru that money like thirsty athletes thru water. It will be gone in no time.

 

[Jesse Leonard]

Do they get this money as a lump sum or is it paid out over 20 years?

 

[Paul O]

yeah, whole thinks sounds phony/contrived...can't understand what McDonald's is thinking here...of course if it was me being randomly picked....
btw - saw those two being interviewed on CNN...they may want to spend their first check on some dental work.

 

[John Spencer]

Just remember: around 80% of contest millionaires declare bankruptcy within 7 years.
As for the contest: McDonalds has always had a certain level of control over who wins, now they're just exerting it "legally". Yet another reason I can't stand them. The first would be that everything tastes like it came out of the same uncleaned fryer.

 

[Ryan Wright]

quote: The first would be that everything tastes like it came out of the same uncleaned fryer.[/quote]

I'm not a big McDonalds fan either. Loved 'em when I was younger but the food is just nasty anymore. This method of distributing contest money is bogus. For one, regardless of what they say, the people giving the money away will select winners based on their own assumptions and preconceived notions. That's just how people are. For two, what about the drive-thru customers? I rarely eat inside fast food joints. I prefer to take my food down to the river, park my car under a tree, turn on some talk radio and enjoy my time, rather than sit and listen to crying babies (although some would argue that's all you hear on talk radio anyway) and watch generally obnoxious & rude people eat.
Not that I eat at McDonalds all that often, but I feel ripped off that people sitting inside the restaurant are hand-picked to win cash. It ought to be on a sales deal. For instance, the 500th customer that day wins. Then it's fair.
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-Ryan ( http://www.ryanwright.com )
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
Teach him to use the HTF and keep him occupied for life.

[Edited last by Ryan Wright on September 04, 2001 at 01:00 PM]

 

[SteveA]

I'll bet the people sitting in the booth behind the guy that won the cash must have been PISSED!

 

[Travis Hedger]

Interesting that fact about contest millionaires go bankrupt.
I wont have to worry about going bankrupt as I probably would never win anything huge like that.
But if I did I would spend it wisely. Pay off my house and current credit card debt. Invest around 10K in my new home theater setup

then put the rest in high interest money market and CD's with some investment in mutual funds and such on the side and work on living on interest genereated. And maybe a new car as mine is @ 140,000 miles and doenst seem that it will last more than a few more years.
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Travis -- "Contrary to popular belief, Travis Hedger, DID NOT infact invent DVD. He was just a very enthusiastic fan!!!"

 

[Ryan Wright]

If I won enough money that I could keep at least a million after taxes, I wouldn't spend a penny. It would all go into investment accounts and I'd use the interest to supplement my current wage. At the five million dollar point, I'd quit my job and start some sort of business of my own. At the ten million dollar point I'd quit working *period* and just enjoy the rest of my life.
$10Mil @ 6% interest = $600k/year. That's more than enough money to provide entertainment during the time you would otherwise be working. As long as you don't touch the initial $10Mil you're set for the rest of your life. I'd go learn all of the skills I've always wanted to learn but never had the time or money for, such as learning to pilot a helicopter.
Anything less than a million, I'd use a good chunk of it to pay off debt and throw the rest in a retirement account. $600k is a lot of money but by the time you pay off your mortgage and other misc debt, setup some college & other funds for your kids and buy a few things for yourself, you're down to only a couple hundred grand left. Might as well continue your current lifestyle (minus a mortgage payment) and retire a few years early.
The problem with most of these idiots is they win a million bucks, so they go out and buy a $500k house, a $300k Ferrari, and blow the remaining $200k on various crap. Then they wake up one morning and realize that hey, a $500k house costs a hefty chunk of change to maintain. Those butlers, maids, gardeners and ferrari mechanics require a salary. And whoops, I have no money left and even if I quit spending alltogether I still need $100k a year to pay my servants and the upkeep on my belongings.
Personally, I see a million dollars as an extra $60k per year for me to spend for the rest of my life. The original million wouldn't be touched.
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-Ryan (http://www.ryanwright.com )
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
Teach him to use the HTF and keep him occupied for life.

 

[John Thomas]

Where have all of you guys been? Mickey-D's announced that they were going to do that as soon as the scandal broke. You just had to be in the right place at the right time.

Eh? What was the purpose of running a second contest then? They ran a small contest, from 8/30-9/2(?) and were running the contest again, down to the Monopoly pieces on the drinks. Plus, there was a flyer they were handing out that stated due to the fraud, they were going to start another contest.
Here's the kicker: Either way, this promotion gets food sold. For those who are influenced by the contest, another one would do the same. If they were truly concerned, they would've given out the pieces without a purchase. I know there's a way to do this but you have to go through the trouble of mailing off for them and waiting for them to return...
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Link RemovedMy Top 10 of 2000 My Top 10 of 2001

 

[Glenn Overholt]

No, I think that as the last thread said, you can just walk in and ask for one.
As for the 'big' winners, I thought it was little sick too, but they are getting the big bucks passed out this time. It is better than nothing, and it does increase sales, which is the point anyway. Amen.
Glenn

 

[BrettB]

Well, off to Mickey D's I go. I've got mismatched shoes, one sock, work pants covered with stains and full of holes, unwashed shirt with one sleeve and torn pocket, a set of Billy Bob teeth & Marlboro ball cap.
I'll pay for the new server myself (maybe they can name it after me) and my post count is going to skyrocket now that I won't have to work.
If anyone needs a loan just let me know.

 

[Joseph S]

So much for the good publicity...

$1m winner is charged in beating of his fiancee
By Associated Press, 9/20/2001
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - A formerly homeless day laborer who won a $1 million instant prize at McDonald's this month was arrested this week on charges of beating his fiancee.
Patrick Collier, 35, was released Tuesday from the Volusia County Jail on $2,500 bond after being arrested at his Ormond Beach home on a felony charge of aggravated battery against 29-year-old Sandra Fabian.
''It was just a fight,'' said Collier's lawyer, J. Peyton Quarles. He said that Fabian had left the state and that the charge against his client could be reduced to battery.
According to a police report, Fabian was left bleeding from her mouth and nose and had a swollen cheek. She was treated at a hospital for head and neck injuries, police said.
Collier went into a McDonald's in Holly Hill on Sept. 1 for a 99-cent breakfast sandwich for Fabian and walked out the winner of a $1 million instant prize, one of five to be awarded by the company.
McDonald's had announced the promotion in the wake of an FBI investigation last month into McDonald's Monopoly game. That game was allegedly rigged by an employee of a company hired by McDonald's to handle game promotions and security.
Just months before winning the prize, Collier and Fabian were homeless, sleeping on cardboard boxes, and earning $50 a day as laborers when they could find work.
Collier is supposed to get $50,000 each year from McDonald's for the next 20 years.
But he won't get anything from his first check, due next week, because he owes back child support and must reimburse the state and federal governments for welfare payments made to his children.
Collier was unable to make those payments in the past four years because he didn't have a regular job and was living on the street, said Laurence Bartlett, his lawyer in the child-support case.

http://boston.com/dailyglobe2/263/nation/_1m_winner_is_charged_in_beating_of_his_fiancee+.s html