Queenpins loosely follows the crimes committed by three Arizona-based women, but their outcomes differ from those of the film’s characters. The comedy Queenpins was inspired by a mᴀssive true-life coupon counterfeiting scheme. Kristen Bell and Kirby Howell-Baptiste lead the Queenpins cast in this story about two women – Bell’s Connie Kaminski and Howell-Baptiste’s JoJo Johnson – and their major fortune through the illegal sale of high-discount coupons.
In reality, the $40 million-dollar coupon scheme involved three women, namely Robin Ramirez, Marilyn Johnson, and Amiko “Amy” Fountain. The trio’s unbelievable financial operation was quashed after one of the victimized corporations, Procter & Gamble, launched an investigation into the fake coupons found to be circulating after an audit. While the movie included the arrests for Bell and Howell-Baptiste’s characters, their fates were one of the numerous changes Queenpins made to the real-life events.
What Happened To Robin Ramirez After Queenpins
The Suspected Real-Life Ringleader Robin Ramirez Loosely Inspired Kristen Bell’s Connie Kaminski
Bell’s portrayal of Connie Kaminski is admittedly not a direct counterpart to any of the real-life Queenpins criminals. Writer-director Aron Gaudet confirms this in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, stating, “The characters themselves are complete creations.” However, given that Connie proposes the idea of selling coupons and obtaining mᴀss amounts of them to do so, she’s the closest resemblance to Ramirez from the true story Queenpins is based on. Additionally, since Ramirez started the operation in 2007 before her cohorts joined, her ringleader status aligns with Connie taking the primary blame for the crimes.
Unlike Ramirez, Connie’s ending after her arrest involved a sentencing of 11 months in prison with the possibility of parole. Ramirez faced 24 months in prison, as well as seven years’ probation. In addition, Ramirez’s probation was extended by five years after she fell behind by $4,000 in the trio’s $1.2 million resтιтution payments (via Coupons In The News). Connie, on the other hand, faced no financial repayment requirements and even got to keep some of the money she made from the scheme as JoJo was shown with the hidden cash after her sentencing.
Moreover, JoJo, Connie’s best friend and co-conspirator, is depicted as having equal ownership in the scheme. However, Johnson and Fountain testified against Ramirez, which led to her changing to a “guilty” plea. This involved Ramirez pleading guilty to counterfeiting, fraud, and illegal control of an enterprise. Connie’s final moments in the film suggest her release is soon, she’ll give birth to her baby, and she’ll reunite with JoJo in Montenegro, where both women will restart their coupon scheme in an extradition-free region. Thus, Ramirez’s fate was much more serious than Connie’s, including life-long repayments to the corporations she defrauded.
What Happened To Marilyn Johnson After Queenpins
Kirby Howell-Baptiste’s JoJo Johnson Loosely Inspired Marilyn Johnson.
Similarly to Connie being fictional, Howell-Baptiste’s JoJo is a very loose amalgamation of both Ramirez’s cohorts, including Johnson. For JoJo, her final sentence involved 10 days in jail suspended and one year’s probation. On the other hand, Johnson pleaded guilty and received three years’ probation. In addition, like Ramirez, Johnson had to pay retributions to the corporations wronged by the coupon scheme. JoJo got off with stashed-away money from the scheme, some of which was even used to pay for Connie’s lawyer.
JoJo also used some of the money to restart her and Connie’s operations in Montenegro, bringing her boyfriend Earl (Dayo Okeniyi) onboard. After sentencing, Johnson remained in Arizona and got a job unrelated to coupons. While JoJo’s sentence was lower than Connie’s because the latter willingly took most of the blame, Johnson’s lighter sentence compared to Ramirez’s was because she and Fountain testified against their suspected ringleader.
What Happened To Amiko “Amy” Fountain After Queenpins
Kirby Howell-Baptiste’s JoJo Johnson Was Also Loosely Inspired By Amiko “Amy” Fountain.
Just like Johnson, Fountain received three years’ probation for a single charge of counterfeiting. Since JoJo represents a new character made up of Johnson and Fountain combined, it’s unsurprising that Fountain’s post-sentencing fate is identical to Johnson’s. She also had to pay off her portion of the retribution and found employment unrelated to coupons.
As mentioned before, JoJo’s fate in Queenpins was much more optimistic as she managed to maintain her friendship, serve very minimal jail time, start up the scheme again abroad, and obtain a romantic partner. All in all, Queenpins conflated and altered the individuals involved in the crimes for more sympathetic storytelling, which included giving Connie and JoJo happier endings.
What The Movie Changed About The Queenpins True Story
Their Crimes & Prison Sentences Were Lessened
Of course, the main change in the true story of the Queenpins was that three women were involved, not two. Robin Ramirez, Marilyn Johnson, and Amiko “Amy” Fountain perpetrated the scheme in real life. The movie combined Johnson and Fountain into one character (played by Howell-Baptiste). The punishments were also changed. In the film, Connie was sentenced to 11 months in prison with a chance of parole. However, Ramirez faced 24 months in prison and seven years of probation.
The women’s relationships also changed in Queenpins. At the end of the film, it seems that Connie and JoJo will reunite in Montenegro to continue their scheme so they won’t be arrested again. However, that never happened in real life, as Johnson and Fountain testified against Ramirez, so there was no happy ending between them. Also, in real life, Ramirez was forced to pay back resтιтution for the rest of her life, which also didn’t happen in the film.
Getting past the end, mᴀssive changes were made between Queenpins and the true story. In the movie, it was the A&G Family Mart who got the investigation started. However, in real life, Procter & Gamble had a big role because they demanded financial compensation for the revenue losses, whereas, in the film, they just wrote it off. It also simplifies how they counterfeit the coupons. All these changes made the women more sympathetic to audiences. These changes also necessitate the lessening of jail time.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Coupons In The News
