Why It Has Largely Been Forgotten
You must be wondering why the scandal has not received a lot of attention. You see, the trial started just a day before the 9/11 tragedy. People soon forgot the McDonald’s scam in the wake of the disaster. Looking gray and tired in a golf shirt, Jacobson took the stand and admitted that he stole up to 60 game pieces. He admitted, “All I can tell you is I made the biggest mistake of my life.” The judge gave him 37 months in jail and ordered him to pay back the $12.5 million that he owed. Jacobson also shook hands with the person who brought him to justice. Agent Richard Dent quietly went back to work on other white-collar crimes but has since retired. In 2005, Jacobson got out of jail and repaid the money. Now in his seventies, he continues to live in Georgia.
Why It Has Largely Been Forgotten
How McDonald’s Handled The Negative Publicity
While McDonald’s continues to be a huge presence across the globe, they did not leave unscathed. They faced a number of lawsuits in the years that followed. Simon Marketing and McDonald’s sued one another for breach of contract in 2001. The fast-food company eventually agreed to pay the marketing company $16.6 million. Burger King also joined in on the lawsuit game. More than 1,000 franchises of the burger restaurant chain filed a class-action lawsuit for unfair promotion and false advertising against McDonald’s for running a compromised game. In the end, however, Burger King dropped the lawsuit. In an effort to make up for all the bad PR, McDonald’s also gave away prizes worth $25 million. This included handing out $1 million prizes to individuals at random locations.
How McDonald’s Handled The Negative Publicity
