Is Queenpins based on a true story? Everything to know about the real coupon con

The Kristen Bell and Kirby Howell-Baptiste buddy crime-comedy, Queenpins, now streaming on Netflix, takes coupon clipping to a criminal level. The film follows former gold medal Olympian Connie (Bell) and aspiring social media influencer Jojo (Howell-Baptiste), whose shared love for clipping coupons turns into a counterfeiting business to aid lower-income families.

Interestingly, the film's inspiration was clipped from a real-life criminal scam that took place in Arizona. Connie and Jojo, however, are completely fictional character, which begs the question: Who were the real Queenpins? How did their scam function? What was their motive? How much money did they con from the big companies? Here's everything you need to know about the real coupon con.

Who were the real Queenpins?

Robin Ramirez, Marilyn Johnson, and Amiko "Amy" Fountain, were the real Queenpins. Ramirez was the ringleader who opened the Savvyshoppersite.com, the base site of their counterfeit operation. Ramirez started collecting grocery coupons in 2007 and sent them overseas. They were duplicated in large quantities, then resold on Savvyshoppersite and Ebay. Eventually, Johnson and Fountain came onboard and assisted Ramirez with operations. While the film's Connie and Jojo are fictional characters, the crime also took place in Phoenix, Arizona.

How did their scam work?

Through Savvy Shopper, customers were able to receive discounts or completely free items such as detergent, food, coffee, and diapers, you name it. The only catch: they had to purchase $50 worth of coupons by default.

The only way new members could get into their too-good-to-be-true program was if they were referred by current customers. But those customers had to be very secretive about the site and the deals that were promoted there. The site carried warnings like “You must have a referral to shop with us,” “You should not advertise that you have purchased any coupon,” and “Do not share this information with people that you don’t actually know.” Certainly, nothing suspicious going on there.

And it worked. People from across America would spend up to $600 on the site's fake coupons. Even if they were counterfeit, it seemed so real, employees at places such as Walmart would override their registers for the Savvy Shopper customers.

Which companies did the Queenpins affect?

Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, and the Hershey Company were just a notable few of 40 manufacturers affected by the scam, according to non-profit Coupon Information Corporation (CIC). The manufacturers suffered losses of hundreds of millions of dollars, with estimates ranging up to roughly $600 million.

What big buys did Ramirez, Johnson, and Fountain purchase during their crime spree?

Much like Connie and Jojo, Ramirez, Johnson, and Fountain were living large. When police raided their operation, they found an airplane hangar full of with expensive sports cars, a massive RV, and a 40-foot speedboat, which added up to $240,000. Additionally, as if it couldn't be Arizonian enough, they had around 22 guns. Now-retired Phoenix detective sergeant, David Lake commented, “The opulence and the money was the equivalent of drug cartel-type of stuff. That’s the type of money they had."

Were any of the Queenpins characters real?

None of the film's characters were based on any real individuals. There wasn't a computer hacker like Bebe Rexha's Tempe Tina involved or a deadpan postal officer like Vince Vaughn's Simon Kilmurry. Kent Miller (Paul Walter Hauser) is the closest resemblance to someone who is real. His character can be loosely associated with Bud Miller, the CIC executive director who conducted the investigation into the real matter. In the film, however, Hauser's Miller is a A&G Family Marts loss prevention officer who fixates on the coupon scam and takes it upon himself to track down the fraudsters.

That's not to say that the characters in Queenpins didn't feel real to the performers. In an interview with EW regarding her character, Jojo, Howell-Baptiste shares, "a common theme in Queenpins is the idea of being undervalued, and I think that's the idea of not only coupons themselves, but couponers. A lot of the people who do this have multiple people in their family involved, so they're sort of teaching their kids financial lessons that the majority of people don't get taught, and I think the art of it is undervalued."

When were the Queenpins caught? What were their charges?

Ramirez, Johnson, and Fountain were arrested on July 10, 2012 in Arizona when a SWAT team raided their houses and uncovered $40 million worth of fake coupons and seized other evidence (vehicles and firearms). In 2013, Ramirez was charged with a number of crimes, including counterfeiting, forgery, money laundering, and operating an illegal enterprise. Ramirez was sentenced to two years in prison and a seven-year probation. Johnson and Fountain had a single charge in counterfeiting and didn't have to serve time but received probation. Altogether, the scam trio was ordered to pay P&G nearly $2 million in damages.

Where to watch Queenpins?

Queenpins is currently streaming exclusively on Netflix.