7 Biggest Changes Queenpins Makes To The Coupon Scam's True Story


The comedy Queenpins, which has seen a recent resurgence after becoming available on Netflix, is a fictionalized account of a real-life multi-million dollar coupon scam. Queenpins follows discontented wife Connie Kaminiski (Kristen Bell), who is inspired to start a massive, illegal coupon business after complaining about a stale box of cereal and receiving a free coupon for her troubles. She recruits her best friend JoJo Johnson (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), whose legitimate career has been ruined by a case of identity theft. The two find a way to acquire some extra coupons and sell them at half the price.

The movie is an enjoyable romp – Bell and Howell-Baptiste are a good pairing who have previously worked together on Veronica Mars and The Good Place – while supporting characters like Loss Prevention Officer Ken (Paul Walter Hauser) and identity thief Tempe Tina (Bebe Rexha) are also amusingly memorable. However, Queenpins makes big changes to the true story. The real coupon queens were based in Arizona, and they did build a multi-million dollar business, but the movie otherwise has its own original characters and story.

Queenpins depicts Connie and JoJo as the only members of the coupon ring. While the idea originated with Connie, she and JoJo have an equal power balance. In real life, the coupon scam was started by Robin Ramirex in 2007. She recruited Marilyn Johnson and Amiko "Amy" Fountain, although Ramirez was considered the ringleader (via Coupons in the News). Additionally, Connie and JoJo are only in their 30s. Ramirez was 40 years old at the time of her arrest, while Johnson was 54 and Fountain was 42. Both the real and fictionalized coupon scams were based in Arizona.

Queenpins having original characters whose crimes are only inspired by real events means that these characters can be developed in other ways. Both of the Queenpins protagonists are given sympathetic backstories: Connie has been through three rounds of IVF treatments and is mocked by her husband for collecting coupons. JoJo lost any chance at a real career when her identity was stolen and law enforcement did not help her. They both feel like they

In Queenpins, Connie and JoJo track down a factory where the coupons they need are produced. They drive to the location in Chihuahua, Mexico and make contact with an expecting married couple working at the factory. The couple agrees to smuggle extra coupons out and ship them to Connie in Arizona for a share of the profits. Queenpins also implies that corporations deserve to be scammed because the couple is working at the factory for $2 an hour.

In real life, Ramirez and later her associates shipped coupons overseas and had them reproduced. They could also have the coupons altered to reflect much bigger deals. For example, a coupon for a free $1 can of Pringles could be turned into $50 of free dog food.

Connie creates an amateur website called supersavvysaver.com to sell coupons, while JoJo advertises the website on her YouTube channel. It appears to be a public website. In contrast, the real SavvyShopperSite required an invitation before customers could access it. Customers were also warned not to freely discuss where they were purchasing their coupons, suggesting that Ramirez, Johnson, and Fountain had a better sense of security. On the other hand, Connie's website is frozen when the provider notices the large amounts of money she is receiving, forcing her and JoJo to restructure their business.

After they are arrested, Connie and JoJo stick together throughout their trial. Connie volunteers to take most of the blame for coming up with the idea, saying that she's in trouble no matter what, and she might as well save JoJo. Ultimately, JoJo is only sentence to 10 days in prison, while Connie is sentenced to 11 months. In contrast, Johnson and Fountain agreed to testify against Ramirez, the leader of the operation. Johnson and Fountain also both previously agreed to plead guilty, while Ramirez changed her plea to guilty after the others agreed to testify.

Ramirez, Johnson, and Fountain were all charged with under two years of prison time. There were also ordered “to any and all persons and businesses associated with this case, for any and all losses incurred… in an amount not to exceed $5 million” (via Coupons in the News). On the other hand, Connie and JoJo manage to hold on to some of their money.

In Queenpins, the companies who lost money in the incident supposedly consider it "just a write-off" and don't want Connie and JoJo's trial to generate too much bad press. Connie hides most of her cash in empty feminine products boxes in her house, which the police and her husband overlook. JoJo retrieves the money to pay Connie's lawyer and start a new life – which seems very convenient.

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