McDonald's Applauds FBI Action, Announces $10 Million
Instant Give-Away for Customers

Oak Brook, IL, August 21, 2001 - McDonald's Corporation today thanked and congratulated the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the U.S. Department of Justice for their investigation that led to the arrest of a suspected criminal ring that has been charged with stealing high-level McDonald's game prizes.

According to the FBI, no current or former McDonald's employees, or franchisees were implicated in the compromised promotions. The criminal ring was allegedly led by the security director for Simon Marketing, Inc., the outside company responsible for game security.

"Quite simply, this office could not have built the strong case we now have against the subjects without McDonald's cooperation and support," said Thomas Kneir, F.B.I. Special Agent in Charge from the Jacksonville, FL bureau. "This case is an excellent example of how cooperation between corporate America and the FBI can work to protect the American people from those who would victimize them for their own selfish gains. In this case, McDonald's was the consummate 'good corporate citizen' and for this we thank you."

"Customer confidence is at the very heart of McDonald's business," said McDonald's Chairman and CEO Jack M. Greenberg. "We're determined that nothing gets between us and our customers, and we're outraged when anyone tries to breach that trust. Once the FBI contacted us, we agreed immediately to cooperate fully with them in an effort to ensure our customer interests were protected. And today, we are pleased to see this objective accomplished."

Mr. Greenberg also thanked the hard-working investigators and pledged the company's continuing support to the U.S. Attorney's Office prosecution team. "Their professionalism and diligence throughout this investigation have been a credit to America's law enforcement community. Let me underscore the point that this is an on-going investigation, and McDonald's is fully committed to providing our continuing assistance and cooperation to the FBI."

Additionally, McDonald's announced several action steps related to this investigation, including:

McDonald's 2001 Instant Give-Away

"Even though millions of McDonald's customers legitimately won prizes over the years, this criminal enterprise has been charged with stealing many of the highest value prizes from our customers, and that is completely unacceptable," said Greenberg. "To right this wrong, we are announcing today the opportunity for McDonald's customers to participate in an instant give-away from August 30 through September 3, 2001, to win cash prizes valued at $10 million."

During the five-day period, 55 major cash prizes - five $1,000,000 prizes and fifty $100,000 prizes - will be given away at randomly selected McDonald's restaurants. To reach customers with news of the McDonald's 2001 Instant Give-Away, McDonald's will be publishing newspaper ads on Wednesday, August 22, 2001. Full details of McDonald's 2001 Instant Give-Away will be available today on McDonald's website, www.mcdonalds.com and will be posted in McDonald's restaurants from August 30 to September 3, 2001.

"McDonald's is committed to giving our customers a chance to win every dollar that has been stolen by this criminal ring," said Greenberg. "This initial $10 million give-away is the first important step towards fulfilling this commitment. When the FBI concludes its investigation and ultimately determines the total amount stolen, we will announce plans to give our customers an opportunity to win any additional dollars taken."

Independent Security Task Force

In order to ensure the integrity of future promotions and protect its customers, McDonald's announced the creation of an independent task force to review all procedures for future promotions. "We're particularly pleased that Dan K. Webb, former U. S. Attorney, Northern District of IL, and Chicago partner at the law firm of Winston & Strawn, has agreed to chair this security task force," said Greenberg. "The task force will include leading independent anti-fraud and game security experts and is charged with scrutinizing our promotion processes to identify the ideal mix of checks, balances and oversight to ensure the integrity of future promotions."

McDonald's Terminates Supplier

Separately, McDonald's announced that it is terminating its relationship with Simon Marketing. "Given the duration of the alleged conspiracy, the lack of any meaningful oversight and the magnitude of the losses, it was the only responsible course of action," said Greenberg.

McDonald's is the world's leading food service retailer with nearly 29,000 restaurants in 121 countries serving 45 million people each day.

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