Why the USPS? The opulence and the money was the equivalent of drug cartel-type of stuff. The postal inspector tells Connie it's 1 year for every $100,000 earned fraudulently and that she's looking at 40 years. US Postal Inspector Simon Kilmurry (Vince Vaughn) appears to be entirely fictional. In addition, the scenes involving the gun sale include short appearances by co-director Aron Gaudet's brother Nick as a barista, as well as actor and director Nick Cassavetes as the leader of the group buying the guns. Thats why they say Robin Hood, thats why they say the fat cats on Wall Street deserve it, thats why they say these corporations are evil. Not because they believe any of that, but so they dont feel guilty about their own actions. His message to coupon wrongdoers is, yes, you got a good deal. Queenpins has arrived in theaters and on Paramount+, telling the story of the countrys largest counterfeit coupon scam. The Phoenix Police Department conducted undercover operations in which they purchased the counterfeit coupons. 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. Queenpins is playing in theaters with plans to stream on Paramount+ in the near future. Judge Daniel Martin sentenced her to 24 months, as well as seven years probation. For the most part, yes. In real life, the FBI did get involved, along with the non-profit Coupon Information Center. Had their deals been a little worse, maybe the women would have never gotten caught. Its that simple. After six months, the pair figure their money is safe to use, but because the money is dirty, they need to spend and clean it. At the time of her arrest, investigators discovered Ramirez had four online accounts and 12 bank accounts. "I am not spending money!" The real-life Queenpins: How three Arizona women were busted with $25 MILLION in counterfeit coupons they were selling online - and inspired a new movie starring Kristen Bell So they may be the first ones to tell you that coupon crime may make for a great Hollywood comedy but in real life, its no laughing matter. "We're Robin Hood," the queenpins reassure themselves. Ben Stiller serves as an executive producer under his Red Hour Productions banner. Real Stories is an ongoing column about the true stories behind movies and TV shows. Kristen Bell, Kirby Howell-Baptiste on friendship, coupons - Los Kristen Bell leads a strong cast in 'Queenpins,' in theaters Sept. 10 She also was ordered to pay restitution of up to $5 million. 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). I'd recommend this film for unwinding on a Friday night after a long week. 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. From writer-directors Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly, the film stars Kristen Bell, Kirby Howell-Ba. Thats the type of money they had.. In the movie, the women are fictionalized as Connie (Bell) and Jojo (Howell-Baptiste), who end up living much the same way. And in terms of the crime itself, Queenpins stayed pretty loyal. Queenpins is a 2021 American comedy film written and directed by Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly. Husband-and-wife filmmakers Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly did fly to Arizona in 2018 to interview the real detective who worked the case. Yes. Two women create a $40 million coupon scam. His filmography contains works such as Face/Off, The Astronaut's Wife, and The Hangover Part II, and he will next be appearing inThe Ogilvy Fortune. 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. Like a coupon high, the fun of this movie does not last. Here's the cast and character guide for Queenpins, along with comparisons to some of the characters' counterparts in real life. In a later scene, another postal service worker says they stole 40 million in counterfeit coupons. Ken: Yeah no, even if I wanted to switch, I think it's more important that your daughter learn a valuable lesson. The Queenpins true story reveals that there were three women involved in the real-life scheme, not two like in the movie. Included in the seizures were $25,000,000 worth of fake coupons, 22 assault weapons, and 21 vehicles including a 40 foot boat. She also was ordered to pay restitution of up to $5 million. According to Time magazine, they went undercover and purchased coupons as part of their effort to locate the source. We dont want people to think its funny. Shecan next be seen in the indie film Silent Night and later inThe Sandman TV series. [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. Your email address will not be published. Some customers became aware of the bust after they tried to use the coupons and they didn't work. The idea started just as a way for their two families to make ends meet as they struggled to pay the bills. director of photography Film Editing by Kayla Emter . And why Bell and co-star Paul Walter Houser didnt talk to the real people behind the characters they play. He has been commended by the FBI for supporting them in numerous efforts to fight "complex coupon fraud schemes." But thats just Connie and Jojo. The three women, Robin Ramirez, Amiko Fountain, and Marilyn Johnson, mostly sold free-product coupons. A bright spot is Bebe Rexha as a dark web expert who helps Connie and Jojo launder their money. 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. Rexha's character helps Connie and JoJo evade the authorities, mainly by strengthening their internet security. 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. Marilyn Johnson, 54, Robin Ramirez, 40, and Amiko Fountain, 42, were taken into custody, and in a press conference, police said a search warrant served resulted in the seizing of $40 million worth of coupons and $2 million worth of assets from the womens homes, including $240,000 in vehicles, 22 guns, and a 40-foot speedboat. She is also known for her appearances in Killing Eve and Cruella. David Lake said. Those are intriguing issues but themovie is less interested in exploring them than it is giving the queenpins makeovers and silly plot detours involving a militia and extended scatological humor. Procter & Gamble $1,288,682 in reimbursement. However, they quickly learned that with a little crime, they could actually make money off of it. She was sentenced to two years in prison, with credit for 287 days served, and seven years of supervised probation. He also focused more on the character aspect of his part, rather than talking to anyone actually involved in loss prevention. 'Sometimes I would come out with three carts of groceries.'. The movie takes a more lighthearted angle on the real story, having to combine ortweak some of the people involved in order towork better as a film. Goodbye coupons, hello high prices. HBOs Rain Dogs Finds Humor, Despair in the Working-Class Mum at its Center, Berlinale Highlights, Part Three: Hummingbirds, Concrete Valley, Afire, The Oneness of All Things: On Sofia Alaouis Animalia, New York International Childrens Film Festival Opens Window to the World. If you can get an unlimited number of those, think how this grows" (Yahoo Finance). 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. No, not at all, Bell told TheWrap. [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. Netherlands ($200,244), United Arab Emirates ($123,281), Hungary ($88,609), Croatia ($41,810), Lithuania ($18,354), Iceland ($11,774), South Africa ($5,900) and Portugal ($5,501). They included coupons for anything from Hershey bars to dog food to diapers. Kristen Bell Runs A Real-Life Coupon Scam In 'Queenpins' Trailer - UPROXX According to Sgt. No one who purchased coupons faced legal repercussions, but one cant help but think that they are the real losers here. And I just want to play the humanity of the guy while adding some comedic elements to him.. We're all looking for a loophole to find our joy and happiness in life." No. Produced by Music by Siddhartha Khosla . She was sentenced to two years in prison, with credit for 287 days served, and seven years of supervised probation. Queenpins movie review & film summary (2021) | Roger Ebert Carly Stern For Dailymail.com Ramirezs case was back before a judge as recently as July, when her probation officer reported she was falling behind on her share of the nearly $1.3 million in restitution payments she and her cohorts were ordered to pay. Their unbelievable success eventually catches the attention of law enforcement. Meanwhile, Ken is partnered with U.S. postal inspector Simon Kilmurry. But nobody really thought it was a big deal, because, you know, its coupons.. She really likes to watch out the window as we land and it helps calm her down. I have never purchased coupons from a clipping service or an auction site." David Lake, who led the Phoenix Police Departments investigation, told KPHO at the time. This is much more inspired So we dont really know anything about the real players and we kind of didnt want to. The film revolves around an ordinary suburban housewife's desire to forge her own path, which ultimately leads her to the world of scams. "You've got yourself an eighteen-karat run of bad luck, kid.". Bud played an instrumental role in taking down the three women who inspired the Queenpins movie.Unlike Bud Miller, Hauser's character doesn't work for the Coupon Information Corporation (a not-for-profit association of consumer product manufacturers dedicated to fighting coupon misredemption and fraud). But during Proctor & Gamble'sroutine audits ofthird-party coupon processors, the discovered fakes in circulation and hired private investigators to do some more digging. Written and directed byAron GaudetandGita Pullapilly, Queenpins is about two housewives who created a $40 million coupon scam. He can next be seen in the movie Delia's Gone. Heres how the real Queenpins counterfeit coupon ring worked: shoppers would purchase the coupons on websites like eBay and/or be invited or referred to the rings personal website, savvyshoppersite.com. Ill go out on a limb here and predict that their once noble intentions go off the rails. Un par de amas de casa crean una estafa de cupones de 40 millones de dlares. The vehicles included a custom Corvette that was worth over $150,000. Unilever also claimed losses, pointing to five particular coupons that had been founded in Ramirezs home, though a judge ruled that they couldn't prove that the three women were responsible for selling them. His character represents the law enforcementin charge of tracking down the women responsible. This includes forums and any public viewing areas or websites.". Coupons wasnt even the biggest, most interesting case I did. This happened after various companies that had been impacted by the bogus coupons hired private investigators to uncover the origins of the 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.. These are free item coupons,' Police Sgt. 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.. [6] In December 2020, Dayo Okeniyi, Joel McHale, Nick Cassavetes, Michael Masini, Paul Rust, Eduardo Franco, Marc Evan Jackson, Lidia Porto, Greta Oglesby, Jack McBrayer and Annie Mumolo joined the cast of the film. That would be too prestigious for Hauser's wannabe-cop Miller (Hauser borrows from his 2019 performance in Richard Jewell). Analysts Predict More Deals in the Grocery Store This Year, Savings Apps Are All the Rage This One Most of All, Grocery Shoppers Shrug Off A Tumultuous Year, Couponer Is Dealt A Final Setback In Decade-Old Dispute. Ramirez pleaded guilty to illegal control of an enterprise, counterfeiting and fraud. The coupons were sold on a site called Savvy Shopper Site, to which interested parties had to be referred or invited directly to use. After a shootout breaks out at a jazz club in the heart of town over a 'transaction' gone wrong, the Shrimps of Ocean Street and the Deadbeats of Industrial Way prepare to fight. They also come into possession of guns, cars and boats in an effort to clean the money theyve made from selling coupons. But lets be honest: its hard to feel too sorry for the corporations in this instance. She and JoJo then learn that the coupons originate from an Advanced Solutions factory in Chihuahua, Mexico, deciding to travel there and collect the coupons to redistribute to other mothers and wives. Yes. 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. The filmmakers, Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly, chose not to interview the real Queenpins for the movie. Fountain and Johnson were both sentenced to three years probation after pleading guilty to a single count of counterfeiting. 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. 'Queenpins' Review: Suburban Scammers Two cash-strapped neighbors devise a multimillion-dollar coupon swindle in this mildly entertaining comedy. .aspect-ratio-box { height: 0; overflow: hidden; padding-top: calc(720 / 1280 * 100%); background: #f9f9f9; position: relative; margin-bottom:30px; } .aspect-ratio-box-inside { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }, Read original story Queenpins': Heres the Real Story Behind Kristen Bells Crime Comedy At TheWrap, July 2012, police in Phoenix, Arizona arrested three women, Queenpins': Heres the Real Story Behind Kristen Bells Crime Comedy, 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. 'These aren't 50 cent off coupons. Hauser previouslyworked with Howell-Baptiste in Cruella and also appeared in I, Tonya. The opulence and the money was the equivalent of drug cartel-type of stuff. Queenpins. Here . But I I sort of didnt approach it from an occupational standpoint, Houser told TheWrap. In July 2012, police in Phoenix, Arizona arrested three women in a coupon scam that cost manufacturers roughly $40 million. Queenpins - Contemporary Robin Hoods grounded in the real world They enjoy their newfound wealth, only to have their criminal enterprise crumble when they are investigated, raided, and arrested. Much the same can be said for Paul Walter Houser, who plays Ken Miller, the loss prevention officer that uncovers and eventually busts Connie and Jojos scam. This is based on the true story of three women: Robin Ramirez, Marilyn Johnson, and Amiko "Amy" Fountain. The site's name was inspired by the legit coupon magazine Savvy Shopper, which is in no way related. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. In researching the Queenpins true story, we learned that Procter & Gamble did an audit of their third-party coupon processors. Singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha makes her feature film debut in the Queenpins movie. 'Queenpins' Review: Suburban Scammers - The New York Times 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. After gathering sufficient evidence, Simon and Ken finally get agents to arrest the pair. But can you live with what you did?. McHaleis perhaps best known for his role inCommunity, and will next be starring in the series Black Box. They were a part of a fast-rising category referred to as "pink collar criminals," "nice" suburban women who commit non-violent crimes, mostly fraud or embezzling from businesses or from community organizations like the PTA. Law-enforcement authorities, manufacturers, and retailers advise against purchasing coupons. Her next acting roleisfor the movie Confess, Fletch. The site's critics consensus reads: "Lowbrow humor and inconsistent storytelling undercut Queenpins' talented cast, making this coupon-clipping comedy a disappointingly poor bargain. 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. 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. A quarter of the U.S. will fall inside an extreme heat belt. [7], Principal photography began in October 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. 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. 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. Indeed, the movie is inspired by a true story, but just how closely does the film follow the events and people its based on? 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. 'We were ordering hundreds of dollars in coupons every month,' one anonymous user toldKentuckys WPSD. In February of 2013,Ramirez pleaded guilty to counterfeiting, fraud, and illegal control of an enterprise, though a forgery charge was dropped. You cant make this stuff up and the filmmakers didnt have to. 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." 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."

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