After winning comes a rude awakening: A newly minted lottery millionaire is on trial – because his most urgent wish was not fulfilled.
Maine – Everything could have been so beautiful. A lotto-Winner really hit it big in the USA in the state of Maine. He bought the Mega Millions winning ticket at a gas station. He won the 1.35 billion jackpot in the lottery. After deducting taxes, this brings him to a nice sum of $500 million. He doesn’t have any worries anymore – or does he?
Given that there are ongoing legal proceedings, this question can obviously be answered quickly. Because like the website Daily Beast reportedthings are anything but going according to plan for him.
Winning the lottery becomes a problem: the jackpot is followed by legal proceedings
But why does the lottery player have to deal with legal proceedings shortly after winning? In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, the lottery winner claims he went to great lengths to keep his winnings a secret, even from his family. The only person who knew about it, according to the lawsuit, was the mother of their child, Daily Beast reports. He wanted to protect not only himself, but also his family. Because once a million-dollar prize becomes known, it not only attracts supplicants but, in the worst case, also criminals. For example, the German lottery millionaire Chico fell victim to a fraudulent scam.
To keep his lottery winnings secret, the man took precautions. Accordingly, he agreed with the mother of his child that she would sign a confidentiality agreement. In return for her confidentiality, she was promised “support and ongoing security resources,” according to the lawsuit. What exactly these include is not known, reports the portal. The aim of the agreement was that his family should not find out anything. Their daughter will not be informed until 2032, when it will be her 18th birthday. Apparently that didn't work, as can be seen from the allegations.
Lotto luck causes family dispute in court
The man now accuses the defendant of revealing his lottery winnings over the phone. Meanwhile, his father, his stepmother and his sister are said to know about the lottery win. This caused him “irreparable harm”. He is now demanding an injunction prohibiting the mother of his child from passing on any further information about the mega-millions win to other people.
In addition, the demands include loud Daily Beast: “All reasonable attorneys’ fees, expenses and court costs incurred in prosecuting this action,” as well as actual damages and compensatory damages “in an amount to be determined at trial, but not less than $100,000 per unauthorized disclosure.”
To avoid trouble after winning the lottery: These tips can help
In Germany, lottery winners are often offered help on how best to deal with suddenly winning millions. Lotto winners should pay attention to three important tips, as Bodo Kemper from Westlotto summarizes:
- Seek advice: In the best case, from several places
- Do not rush: Investments should be carefully considered
- Confidentiality: This is the best way to protect yourself from envy and criminals
An Austrian also recently preferred to exercise caution after winning the lottery. After he hit the jackpot, he called the lottery and made an appointment with a “high-winning agent.”
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