Is Queenpins Based On A True Story? Real-Life Inspiration Explained

The comedy Queenpins is based on a true story of a real-life coupon scam; here’s everything it changes (and what really happened).

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The comedy Queenpins, which is about two friends behind a massive couponing scheme, is based on a true story. Queenpins reunites actors Kristen Bell and Kirby Howell-Baptiste — who appeared together in Veronica Mars and The Good Place — as Connie Kaminiski and JoJo Johnson, respectively. In the movie, Connie receives a coupon as an apology after she complains to a company about stale cereal. This incident sparks an idea that ends up making her, and her best friend JoJo, a lot of money.

In Queenpins, Connie and JoJo’s idea to resell stolen coupons quickly gains traction online, and the two find themselves as the heads of a lucrative illegal operation. To keep the police off their trail, Connie and JoJo enlist the help of tech genius Tempe Tina (Bebe Rexha). The sudden influx of invalid coupons nonetheless attracts the attention of a grocery chain’s loss prevention officer, Ken Miller (Paul Walter Hauser), who helps a U.S. postal inspector, Simon Kilmurry (Vince Vaughn), uncover where the illegal coupons are coming from.

The $40 million coupon scam may seem like a work of fiction, but the story in Queenpins is inspired by a true-crime story. In 2012, Arizona police did arrest three women in possession of millions of dollars worth of fake coupons. Illegal couponing may not sound like a big deal, but on a large scale, it can cost corporations millions of dollars in lost revenue. The scam inspired the making of Queenpins, but it’s not a perfectly accurate retelling.

Queenpins Is Based (Loosely) On A True Story

Queenpins is based on a real-life coupon scam orchestrated by three women in Arizona: Robin Ramirez, Marilyn Johnson, and Amiko “Amy” Fountain. Ramirez, who was 40 years old at the time of her arrest, was considered the ringleader of the group. Johnson, then 54, and Fountain, 42, assisted her with the operation, which made them millions. Sgt. David Lake of the Phoenix Police Department told local TV station KPHO [via Coupons in the News]: “The opulence and the money was the equivalent of drug cartel-type of stuff.” Regardless of the women’s financial situation before they started the scheme, by the time it ended, they were living in luxury. The coupon scam was featured in the CBS documentary series Pink Collar Crimes in 2018, and Queenpins takes a more comedic approach to the story.

Real-Life Coupon Scam: How It Worked

Coupons in the News reports that Ramirez started selling fake coupons as early as 2007. Her system involved sending coupons overseas to be reproduced and counterfeited in large quantities. These coupons would be altered to amazing deals. For instance, a real coupon for $1 off Pringles could be changed to $50 worth of free dog food. Some customers later admitted the deals seemed too good to be true, but they never wanted to question such good fortune.

Johnson helped package and ship orders, and Fountain sometimes added hologram stickers to the fake coupons to make them look more legitimate. The coupons were then sold on eBay from multiple different accounts as well as from the group’s own website, SavvyShopperSite. This site required an invite in order to access, and also included a warning not to freely share where customers purchased the coupons.

What Happened To The Real-Life Coupon “Queenpins”?

Like in the ending of Queenpins, in real life, the women’s fortune eventually came to an end. One of the victimized companies, Procter & Gamble, launched an investigation when they discovered some of the fake coupons during a routine audit. Forty businesses eventually filed fraud complaints, alerting the Coupon Information Corporation and local police. Private investigators worked with the Phoenix Police Department who went undercover to track down the three women involved. The investigation lasted eight weeks, during which officers pretended to be customers purchasing some of the counterfeit coupons.

A police raid found more than $40 million in fake coupons along with $2 million in other assets including 22 guns, cash, 21 vehicles, and a speed boat. Ramirez, Fountain, and Johnson were all arrested. Fountain and Johnson eventually pleaded guilty to counterfeiting, and Ramirez pleaded guilty to counterfeiting, fraud, and illegal control of an enterprise. She was sentenced to 24 months in prison and seven years probation while her friends served 3 years probation. The women also had to pay Procter & Gamble more than $1.2 million.

Everything The Movie Changes

Queenpins makes some key changes to the original story of the coupon scam. In the fall 2021 movie, authorities first become aware of a potential problem when a Loss Prevention Officer working for the grocery store chain called A&G Family Mart receives numerous complaints of fraudulent coupons. He initially goes to the FBI for help, but the case gets transferred to a U.S. Postal Inspector since the coupons are being physically mailed out (making the scam mail fraud). This angle allows the film to be more comedic in how it covered the investigation; it also takes focus away from the harm the scam did to companies. Although the movie does mention Procter & Gamble by name, the businesses are portrayed as not really being affected by the scam — instead, the event is framed as “just a write-off” for them.

In reality, P&G received financial compensation for the losses in revenue. Other companies also asked for reimbursement, but could not prove their products were involved in the coupon scheme. Queenpins chose not to include the reimbursement the women were court-ordered to pay, most likely to make them seem more sympathetic to the audience. It is much easier to root for characters whose actions don’t actually cause any lasting harm. Other key changes in Queenpins are also meant to further endear the two lead women to audiences. Connie chooses to take full responsibility for their crimes to protect JoJo. Yet, in real life, Johnson and Fountain turned on Ramirez in exchange for lighter sentences. The movie also gives Connie a tragic backstory. Pregnancy complications are the cause of her and her husband’s financial struggles, which lead her toward extreme money-making schemes.

The movie simplifies the women’s counterfeiting system as well. In real life, they would send real coupons overseas to be altered and mass-produced. In Queenpins, they simply stole excess coupons from a factory in Mexico. All of their “fake” coupons were in fact real, just being distributed in much larger quantities than companies wanted. Queenpins also reduces the women’s sentences. JoJo receives 10 days of jail time and one-year probation while Connie receives 11 months of jail time. Neither of them learn their lesson from this though, because the movie ends with Connie and JoJo planning to start their coupon scam all over again, this time overseas.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/queenpins-true-story-real-life-coupon-scam/