Well, the people who went in on the scheme knew that it was shady. But the winners weren't criminal masterminds. James Lee Hernandez, the co-director of McMillions, told USA Today that the “winners” were “not necessarily villains.” One of the participants in the scam, Gloria Brown , found herself dumbfounded when the unbelievable opportunity presented itself. The Daily Beast reported that Brown was propositioned at an Applebee’s in Jacksonville and was asked how much money she could come up with to be “eligible” to be part of the scheme. She later handed over $40,000 and was shown “a tiny bottle containing the $1 million game piece,” and was told they'd let her know about the rest of the “plan” later.