Ramirez, then 40, Fountain, then 42, and Johnson, then 54, were arrested andcharged with counterfeiting, forgery, money laundering, operating an illegal enterprise, and other crimes. she says. Queenpinshits theaters on September 10th and will be available to stream via Paramount+ on September 30th. In real life, the FBI did get involved, along with the non-profit Coupon Information Center. 'These aren't 50 cent off coupons. Some of the coupon enthusiasts featured on the TLC show Extreme Couponing routinely purchased coupons from clipping services.In response to the Arizona coupon counterfeiting ring that inspired the Queenpins movie, the CIC's Bud Miller stated, "Coupon buyers expose themselves to the possibility of becoming involved with counterfeits, stolen property, or other criminal activities. I just decided I really wanted to play the curmudgeon nature of the character. A charge for forgery was dropped. The idea started just as a way for their two families to make ends meet as they struggled to pay the bills. No, not at all, Bell told TheWrap. Released in the United States on September 10, 2021 by STXfilms, the film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office bomb, grossing only $1.2 million against a $20 million production budget. Vince Vaughnas Simon Kilmurry -Vince Vaughn plays Simon Kilmurry, a U.S. postal inspector who works with Ken to investigate the coupon scam. We just wanted to create our own characters.. Why the USPS? They contact the hacker who stole JoJos identity, Tempe Tina, and are taken to her secret location, where she instructs the pair on how to conceal their operation and secure their money, suggesting they use JoJos cosmetics brand Back 2 Black to disguise their coupon business. [12] Hauser's performance as fraud specialist Ken Miller received praise from critics who praised his onscreen chemistry with Vaughn while noting that the film established him as a comedic actor after his breakthrough role in 2019's Richard Jewell. The filmmakers, Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly, chose not to interview the real Queenpins for the movie. Queenpins has arrived in theaters and on Paramount+, telling the story of the countrys largest counterfeit coupon scam. When Connie discovers that a complaint letter about stale cereal earned her a coupon for a free box, it's a short road to finding a $2 an hour employee at the Mexico coupon printing plant (moved from the US to save money) who is willing to send them extras. In the movie, the women are fictionalized as Connie (Bell) and Jojo (Howell-Baptiste), who end up living much the same way. Goodbye coupons, hello high prices. That is the basic premise of Queenpins, a comedy reuniting The Good Placeco-stars Kristen Bell and Kirby Howell-Baptiste as the two leads. And after reading the script and falling massively in love with it, because it was such a grounded comedy, I did some research about these women. Bud Miller, Executive Director of the Coupon Information Center, told money-saving columnist Jill Cataldo at the time, "These customers should expect contact in the future." But I I sort of didnt approach it from an occupational standpoint, Houser told TheWrap. Two women create a $40 million coupon scam. They also come into possession of guns, cars and boats in an effort to clean the money theyve made from selling coupons. While the characters in Queenpins are fictional, the crime they came up with is the real deal. David Lake, who was in charge of the coupon investigation at the Phoenix Police Department, "The opulence and the money was the equivalent of drug cartel-type stuff." Queenpins tells a comedic story of two down-on-their-luck Phoenix women who discover their path to prosperity by concocting a $40 million counterfeit coupon scheme that all comes crashing down when they get caught. Okeniyi appeared in The Hunger Games and Run Sweetheart Run, and his next role is in Greek Freak. It all sounded so unbelievable and over the top, and we knew the story had the makings for a great comedy., So while the women may not be thrilled to see their pasts dredged up and played for laughs on the big screen, Lake is hopeful that moviegoers wont come away with the wrong idea about creating or using counterfeit coupons. He described digging through trash cans, conducting surveillance, and ultimately kicking in the doors of the three womens homes, where they found a treasure trove of evidence coupons, cash, guns, along with what they later discovered was an airplane hangar filled with sports cars, a fully decked-out RV and a 40-foot speedboat. Autumn Cejer is a Movie/TV Features Writer for Screen Rant. She was sentenced to two years in prison, followed by seven years probation. She spends her free time drinking coffee and trying to resist the urge to buy any new books before reading the many she already owns. They don't call it robbery; they prefer "removing" or "separating.". While JoJo is released on bail, Rick visits Connie only so he can admonish her, having been informed by Simon that she and JoJo have defrauded over 240 companies of tens of millions of dollars. Ramirez pleaded guilty to illegal control of an enterprise, counterfeiting and fraud. Related:Free Guy Cast, Characters & All Cameos Guide. Paul Walter Hauser's character, Ken Miller, seems to be a very loosely-inspired caricature of Bud Miller, the Executive Director of the Coupon Information Corporation (CIC). Ill go out on a limb here and predict that their once noble intentions go off the rails. What is the Japanese language plot outline for Queenpins (2021)? Ramirez, Fountain and Johnson were charged and convicted for running their very own $40 million counterfeit coupon scheme, for which theyre still paying the price and may well be for the rest of their lives. After he retired from the force, he took what he had learned from this case and others like it to found the Center on Shadow Economics, which works to mitigate the economic impact of black market crimes like counterfeit couponing. Kristen Bell as Connie Kaminski Kristen Bell stars as Connie Kaminski, a suburban housewife who just wants to find a solution for the debt burying her and her husband. But Aron [Gaudet] and Gita [Pullapilly], as storytellers our writer and directors have added so many specific elements of storytelling to this about what Connies career was, what Jojos career was, their circumstances in life in order to create a story that you would root for, and then it sort of goes into the nonfiction aspect that it sort of wasnt maybe as necessary to take on a ton of the real life characteristics of the women.. I have never purchased coupons from a clipping service or an auction site." Directed and written by Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly, the movie stars Kristen Bell, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Vince Vaughn, Paul Walter Hauser, and Bebe Rexha. As far as the real women involved, stars Kristen Bell and Kirby Howell-Baptiste admit that they never actually met or spoke to the actual minds behind the crime to learn what sparked it. However, Ken Miller, a hapless loss prevention officer for the A&G Family Marts stores in the Southwestern United States, learns about the coupons and the losses several companies are taking, and pressures his superiors before ultimately deciding to handle the case himself. Ramirez pleaded guilty to counterfeiting, fraud, and illegal control of an enterprise. As far as the real women involved, stars Kristen Bell and Kirby Howell-Baptiste admit that they never actually met or spoke to the actual minds behind the crime to learn what sparked it. Fountain and Johnson were both sentenced to three years probation after pleading guilty to a single count of counterfeiting. [7], Principal photography began in October 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. A quarter of the U.S. will fall inside an extreme heat belt. According to Coupons in the News, Ramierz started selling counterfeit coupons as early as 2007, and was eventually joined by the other two women. In Queenpins, its Ken Miller who pleads with the FBI to get involved, but in the end, he ends up working with Vince Vaughns postal inspector character, with the reasoning being that the crime was technically committed via snail mail. 'Queenpins' Plot Summary Indeed, the movie is inspired by a true story, but just how closely does the film follow the events and people its based on? Ramirez, Fountain and Johnson are now having to live with what they did. Johnson helped package and ship the coupons to customers, and Fountain placed hologram stickers on some of them to make them look more legitimate. A look at what really happened with the characters of Andrew Dominiks 2007 Western epic. Talk about extreme couponing! The duo bond on their mission, with Simon sympathizing with Ken's unwavering devotion. JoJo combines two people in real life:Amiko Fountain and Marilyn Johnson. She has previously appeared with Bell on Bad Moms, buther claim to fame has been in screenwriting. The postal inspector tells Connie it's 1 year for every $100,000 earned fraudulently and that she's looking at 40 years. By mail. [4] In September 2020, Kirby Howell-Baptiste joined the cast of the film, replacing Jones, with Ben Stiller joining as an executive producer under his Red Hour Productions banner, with STX Entertainment set to distribute. He has been commended by the FBI for supporting them in numerous efforts to fight "complex coupon fraud schemes." She was sentenced to two years in prison, with credit for 287 days served, and seven years of supervised probation. After tracing the origins of the ring to Phoenix, the FBI then teamed up with local law enforcement to bust the group. I just decided I really wanted to play the curmudgeon nature of the character. director of photography Film Editing by Kayla Emter . YOU'VE REACHED YOUR MONTHLY ARTICLE LIMIT. They encounter married employees Alejandro and Rosa Diaz, who agree to send them the unused coupons. July 2012, police in Phoenix, Arizona arrested three women, Tom Sizemore, star of 'Saving Private Ryan,' 'Heat,' dies at 61 after brain aneurysm, Josh Hartnett is done talking about his break from Hollywood but ready to make fun of actors: 'We're the worst', Michael B. Jordan admits muscle gain for 'Creed' has been harder as he's gotten older, Billy Bush suggests Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes start their own show after ABC exit: 'They've got something that works', How to watch every Oscars 2023 Best Picture nominee. Now that theyve done their time and are working to pay off their debt, the women appear to be trying to put the incident behind them. I try to work with police chiefs, at the state and local level, to come up with ways of explaining how important protecting our business infrastructure is, he said. Woman on Plane: Hey sorry, uhm, would you mind if we switched seats, just for this last part? They also come into possession of guns, cars and boats in an effort to. "You've got yourself an eighteen-karat run of bad luck, kid.". The trail led to the Arizona coupon ring located in Phoenix. According to Sgt. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Coupons in the News features daily news stories and information about coupons, grocery shopping and saving money. Because they arent exactly hardened criminals, they think that the money theyve made through their shell company has to be laundered, so they bought all these high priced items with the intent to just immediately resell them. Except that these ladies sold unauthorized or forged coupons for a fraction of the face value to consumers who used them to get lots and lots of stuff without paying for it. But nobody really thought it was a big deal, because, you know, its coupons.. Had the system been better then, Lake said, we could have arrested probably another 50 people at least, who were buying hundreds of these coupons at a time and saying, I know theyre fake, but they work great.. I'd recommend this film for unwinding on a Friday night after a long week. The opulence and the money was the equivalent of drug cartel-type of stuff. Joel McHaleas Rick Kaminski- McHale plays Connie's husband who is worried about their growing amount of debt. Having had enough of his lack of support, she declares that she wants a divorce. [9], Other box office grosses include Russia ($326,012), Ukraine ($221,109), For example, a person could use a $25 coupon to purchase a $15 bag of dog food and receive the difference in cash. Lets break it down. Bell plays former Olympian and bored. It appeared the women were making so much money, they werent even sure how to spend it all. Husband-and-wife filmmakers Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly did fly to Arizona in 2018 to interview the real detective who worked the case. Watching "Queenpins" is like eating grocery store birthday cake. Capitalism always knows how to win. Missing Pittsburgh street preacher known as 'The Sparrow' who vanished 30 YEARS ago is found ALIVE and living in 'It's a vindication of what I've been through': Georgia Harrison tells of her 'relief' as shamed reality star ex Two Insulate Britain protesters are jailed for contempt of court after they defied a judge's orders not to refer Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Insane moment river of rocks falls onto Malibu Canyon in CA, Mom who lost both sons to fentanyl blasts laughing Biden, Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' Thats money in the bank.'. She has also worked on soundtracks for movies like Abominable and, most recently, He's All That. The fake coupon game isnt a joke. Many of the details of the real story have been changed, including the names, but also backstories to make the characters more sympathetic. And I just want to play the humanity of the guy while adding some comedic elements to him.. Though the pair face forty-years-to-life, the companies that they victimized clandestinely press the courts for leniency to avoid bad press, resulting in ten days imprisonment plus one year of probation for JoJo and eleven months incarceration (parole eligible in eight) for Connie. While the characters in the 2021 movieQueenpins call out systemic inequality and the downfalls of capitalism, it's unlikely that their real-life counterparts shared these same sentiments. But thats just Connie and Jojo. I agree with TheWrap's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and provide my consent to receive marketing communications from them. If you can get an unlimited number of those, think how this grows. Their script is so nuanced and the words are chosen so perfectly. A real disc jockey inspired Robin Williams classic character. At $300 a month, even if she stays current in her payments, it will take more than 120 years to pay off her share of the restitution order. The group would have fake coupons made oversees, including reproductions of legitimate coupons and made-up ones with steep savings. In real life, the FBI did get involved, along with the non-profit Coupon Information Center. They interview people from grocery stores that the ladies frequent, almost all of whom recognize Connie due to her constantly irritating coupon usage, even successfully linking her to the "Savvy Super Saver" website as she uses its slogan while shopping. Ken is the kind of guy who desperately wants to present himself as a stoic, but when alone, screams in rage. These are free-item coupons," Phoenix Police Sgt. McHaleis perhaps best known for his role inCommunity, and will next be starring in the series Black Box. She does not seem to take it too seriously, telling us that "this is a story about little old coupons.". Instead we have LPOKen Miller (Paul Walter Hauser), a dedicated but comically awkward stickler for the rules, who is eventuallyjoined by an investigator from the USPS (Vince Vaughn, nailing just the right mix of exhausted irritation and integrity). We're all looking for a loophole to find our joy and happiness in life." In July 2012, police in Phoenix, Arizona arrested three women in a coupon scam that cost manufacturers roughly $40 million. This is based on the true story of three women: Robin Ramirez, Marilyn Johnson, and Amiko "Amy" Fountain. Queenpins Cast And Character Guide: Where You Know The Actors From, Worth Cast & Character Guide: What The Real People Look Like, Free Guy Cast, Characters & All Cameos Guide, Q-Force Cast & Character Guide: Where You Know The Actors From. "I am not spending money!" Queenpins Writers Balance Comedic Tone with Real-Life Drama in Coupon Caper By: Shanee Edwards Kirby Howell-Baptiste as JoJo Johnson and Kristen Bell as Connie Kaminski in QUEENPINS. When we use coupons, we feel like we're getting away with something, like we're smart and special. Police in Phoenix, Arizona, announced the arrest of three women after they confiscated more than $25 million worth of fake coupons in a raid. 110 minutes Cast Kristen Bell Kirby Howell-Baptiste as JoJo Paul Walter Hauser Vince Vaughn Joel McHale Bebe Rexha as Tempe Tina Dayo Okeniyi Nick Cassavetes Michael Masini Paul Rust Eduardo Franco Marc Evan Jackson Lidia Porto Greta Oglesby Jack McBrayer Annie Mumolo Director Aron Gaudet She was the only one of the three to receive jail time. They were also ordered to pay Proctor & Gamble more than $1.2 million. Yes, like the grocery store coupons that come with the Sunday paper. Yes. They also seized more than $2 million in other assets, including 22 guns, cash, 21 vehicles, and a speed boat. 'We gotta steal these coupons and sell them to families who really need them. The real Queenpins' mugshots are displayed below. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Authorities later estimated that the coupon ring cost corporations hundreds of millions of dollars in profit. Law-enforcement authorities, manufacturers, and retailers advise against purchasing coupons. It is also revealed that Connie, after numerous unsuccessful attempts to conceive following her miscarriage, is finally pregnant through in vitro fertilization. Upon realizing that they could get a coupon for a free item sent to them just by complaining to the manufacturer, they come up with a plan to smuggle and steal cases of those coupons, to then sell to people. On a message board, one fan raved about paying $7 for a mega pack of Pampers, with no max value meaning a shopper could get more than $50 worth of product free. After gathering sufficient evidence, Simon and Ken finally get agents to arrest the pair. Read about the latest trends in couponing, get some new coupon alerts and keep up with stories across the country and around the world that have to do with coupons, the companies that issue them and the consumers who use them. But thats just Connie and Jojo. The coupons were sold on a site called Savvy Shopper Site, to which interested parties had to be referred or invited directly to use. It might have been more interesting to have lead police officer on the case a woman, as it was in the actual arrest. The Phoenix Police Department conducted undercover operations in which they purchased the counterfeit coupons. Credit: Courtesy STX Films. [10], On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 47% based on 62 reviews with an average rating of 5.40/10. They enjoy their newfound wealth, only to have their criminal enterprise crumble when they are investigated, raided, and arrested. A trailer released this month shows how a suburban housewife (Bell) and her coupon vlogger friend (Howell-Baptiste) come up with a scheme to sell fake coupons online, earning them millions of dollars while contributing to costly losses for brands like Proctor & Gamble andUnilever. These companies included Hershey, Procter & Gamble, and the Coupon Information Corporation. Fountain and Johnson were both sentenced to three years probation after pleading guilty to a single count of counterfeiting. And after reading the script and falling massively in love with it, because it was such a grounded comedy, I did some research about these women. 17:42 EST 23 Jul 2021. A judge sentenced Ramirez to twenty-four months in prison and seven years probation. Ramirez pleaded guilty to illegal control of an enterprise, counterfeiting and fraud. Her ancestry is Polish (mother) and German, English, Irish, and Scottish (father). It was then that they learned of the fakes that were in circulation. "We knew, based on our research on past films, the more we dig into the real lives, it becomes much more serious, much more dramatic," Pullapilly told the, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. Authorities also seized twenty-two assault weapons and twenty-one vehicles, including a forty-foot boat, in the raid. Although both women also had to financially reimburse P&G, they did not have to serve jail time for their part in the scheme. The counterfeiting scheme was previously featured in the. I was very excited when I saw on the front page of the script that was based on a true story. Whatever Happened to the Real-Life Queenpins? They also come into possession of guns, cars and boats in an effort to. The Arizona coupon ring's leader, Robin Ramirez, and her accomplices, Marilyn Johnson and Amiko Fountain, were arrested in July of 2012. Queenpins tells a comedic story of two down-on-their-luck Phoenix women who discover their path to prosperity by concocting a $40 million counterfeit coupon scheme that all comes crashing down when they get caught. The counterfeiting scheme was previously featured in theCBS TV docu-series Pink Collar Crimes in 2018. Because at Coupons In The News, we believe an educated consumer is the best couponer! On the real Queenpins website, SavvyShopperSite.com, they sold free-product coupons, with the caveat that you must spend at least $50 on coupons per order. You don't always get your way. And they get a monthly reminder every time they make their latest restitution payment. For the most part, yes. She lives with her mother and is trying to be an entrepreneur with a series of YouTube videos featuring tips on saving. All three women were arrested and charged with forgery, fraud and counterfeiting. David Lake, who led the Phoenix Police Departments investigation, told KPHOat the time. 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He can next be seen in the movie Delia's Gone. Which brings us to Queenpins, a based-on-a-true-story comedy about the suburbanite besties behind the largest coupon counterfeit scam in U.S. history. It stars Kristen Bell, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Paul Walter Hauser, Bebe Rexha, and Vince Vaughn. Here's the cast and character guide and the real-life counterparts. Queenpins' cast of characters also includes familiar faces like Bebe Rexha, Vince Vaughn, and Joel McHale in supporting roles. You know what, I bet if a better actor were playing Ken Miller, thered probably be a little fine tooth combing involved with the world of loss prevention. Ame shielded her eyes from the sunlight, "It's just that it's been a while since I've been on duty at daytime.". This is much more inspired So we dont really know anything about the real players and we kind of didnt want to. [1] It was released on September 10, 2021. On the case to bust them: a supermarket's. Here's the cast and character guide for Queenpins, along with comparisons to some of the characters' counterparts in real life. And I think it comes from loneliness and feeling isolated and kind of under-utilized or under-appreciated. And it seems like the makers of the movie share this sentiment. They joined forces with several other affected companies and hired private investigators to track the source of the fraudulent coupons. And where does that curmudgeonly frame come from? The real-life Queenpins thought that the similar name would make their scheme appear more legitimate. He also focused more on the character aspect of his part, rather than talking to anyone actually involved in loss prevention. Perhaps the most telling sign that things weren't on the up-and-up was the fact that the site advised, "Please do not share this information with people that you don't actually know. Her sacrifices have never been appreciated and she has been overlooked by her husband Rick, an IRS senior audit specialist, her loved ones and the rest of society. In addition to the $40 million in counterfeit coupons that they confiscated, police seized $2 million in assets from the three women, including four homes, 22 guns, a 40-foot speed boat, and 21 vehicles. This installment focuses on the true story behind the crime comedy Queenpins. But its funny that its gotten so much attention, Lake said. The story of the three womens 2012 arrests for coupon fraud is back in the news, as the major motion picture they inspired is set to open in theaters this Friday. Your email address will not be published. Murdaugh is heckled as he leaves court, Ken Bruce finishes his 30-year tenure as host of BBC Radio 2, Ukrainian soldier takes out five tanks with Javelin missiles, Family of a 10-month-old baby filmed vaping open up, Missing hiker buried under snow forces arm out to wave to helicopter, Hershey's Canada releases HER for SHE bars featuring a trans activist, Moment teenager crashes into back of lorry after 100mph police race.