A "dollar and a dream" has turned into a $1 million legal nightmare — with a Brooklyn, New York, woman accusing her daughter of running off with her jackpot.
In papers filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court, Barbara Quiles says her daughter, Linza Ford, has absconded with her winnings.
"It's heartbreaking what she's done," Quiles, 51, said Tuesday night. "God is on my side. God doesn't like ugly and this is ugly."
The mother says she suffers from lupus, bulging discs, spinal stenosis and has had two hip replacement surgeries.
"I'm a retired nurse. I live month to month on disability," Quiles said. "This stress sets off my lupus."
But Ford maintains the ticket and the $1 million jackpot are and always were hers.
"This was my ticket," Ford told The News. "She's not entitled to any of it."
The 21-year-old said her mother is mentally ill, "which is why I left" her home nine months ago.
Quiles' bombshell suit says she became ill after she purchased the winning New York Lottery scratch-off ticket on Nov. 27, 2012, at the Prabjhu Grocery Store near her Bensonhurst home.
Quiles tried to be "a good mother" and said she trusted Ford to claim the winnings on her behalf and have the money deposited into her bank account — $50,000 a year over a 20-year term.
"I love my kids," said Quiles, who denied ever being diagnosed with a mental illness. "If I didn't have so much confidence and faith in her, I wouldn't have trusted her. She took it all."
The lawsuit, made public on Tuesday, explains that Quiles did not want Ford and her other two children — Alexa, 8, and Stephanie, 29 — to have to deal with any legal inheritance issues if she died.
"I'm the winner of the Million Dollar Scratch-off, however I let my daughter claim my winnings because of my illness," said Quiles.
"With the possibility of serious medical events, Quiles did not want for (Ford) to have any legal inheritance issues" regarding the lottery winnings, says the suit, which was made public Tuesday. Quiles was unaware that her greedy daughter was featured in a December 2012 article in the Daily News and another publication, touting her luck in winning the money from the Million Dollar Scratch ticket.
Ford, 21 of Horseheads, N.Y., also had an emotional account about her father's recent disability and the possibility of putting college on hold to save money — nothing about her mother, which violated their "lottery agreement," the suit says.
Over the course of the next two years, Quiles said she trusted Ford to open a safety deposit box at Santander Bank on 86th St. and was granted power of attorney in order to access the box.
Things turned sour around last November when Quiles' bank account was flushed out and she was denied access to the deposit box that contains $50,000 of her "irreplaceable" and "sentimental" valuables, including her late husband's jewelry, the suit says.
Quiles said she was in the hospital last April and that Ford did not visit her. She said they had a falling out and that she told her daughter her boyfriend was no longer welcomed in her home.
Ford moved out of her house soon after, Quiles said.
"When she left, she even stole my dog, Daisy," Quiles said of her beloved Rat Terrier puppy. "I've done everything for this child. She even left me stuck with her student loans from Hofstra (University)."
Ford counters that she's the one who bought the ticket, and the bank account was hers.
She said she let her mom withdraw money from the account, but the withdrawals were getting bigger and bigger.
"She started withdrawing everything," Ford said, leading her to transfer the account and move out of her Brooklyn home.
Ford, who according to her Facebook page was married in a backyard ceremony last week, said she had "no idea" her mom had filed suit.
"She's not well," she said.
Quiles' suit charges Ford violated their "lottery agreement" and is "intentionally exploiting" her.
The suit says she "fears" Ford would take her "future winnings and leave the state or maybe even the country,"according to the court documents.
The mother is suing her daughter for violating their "lottery agreement," acting "illegally, maliciously, and recklessly with the purpose of intentionally exploiting" her, according to the court documents.
"She loves her daughter very much and it's unfortunate any of this is going on," said a woman who identified herself as Quiles' other daughter, Stephanie.
A woman who identified herself over the phone as Quiles' sister said, "This is causing her a lot of stress, This whole situation is making her very nervous, she's not doing well."
Asked if she still plays the lottery, Quiles said, "I still pick up a ticket or two, but now I go in with a dream but no dollar."
A rep for the state lottery declined comment.
Thanks to w794728 for the tip.
To do that to your sick Mom, makes you a lowlife. If it's true of course.
I don't know why but the mothers story doesn't sound completely true to me. Maybe is because I had friends with family members who suffer from mental illness or were just pure evil and they always used their illness and problems to justify their abusive behavior , once the person was able to leave they had to always to endure the accusations of being bad children from their parents. They would always talk about all the stuff they did for them which most of the time were lies or exaggeration.
The mothers story just sounds too similar for me to just say the daughter is guilty.
With stories like this, you can't really tell who's telling the truth and who's lying.
But, it is sad to see a relationship like this. If Mom is really that bad off, the daughter should help some. But, it looks clear that isn't happening, because that relationship went sour a long time ago.
Linza Ford showed off her oversized check after claiming the $1 million jackpot in 2012.
But Ford maintains the ticket and the $1 million jackpot are and always were hers.
“This was my ticket,” Ford told The News. “She’s not entitled to any of it.”
Ticket claimed, and filed under adults name.( he who claims it, gets it). Three years later, files suit?
I have to agree, the Mother may not be all together accurate.
To many fallacies by the mother for it to be entirely true.
I have to wonder why the mother didn't entrust it to the oldest daughter...a 21 year old is not the best money manager,
I know I wasn't .
She could at least pay off her student loan, higher education is not an entitlement.
And give the dog back !
Very sad how can you do that to your mom. Even if the daughter is right, her mother could use the help.
I am from NYC this is a very sad story between mother and daughter, even though the mother claims its her ticket its to late now the ticket has been cashed and there was no legal agreement between both of them just word of mouth and people can change their story to benefit themselves. In my opinion Linza Ford is the owner of the ticket because she cashed the ticket, and she gave all her information to NY Lottery commission and paid her taxes under her social and used her bank account the mother should just let it go she is spending money on lawyers when she lives month to month with a disability check if she didn't want to be in financial distress she should of cashed the ticket herself and not live month to month on a disability check and none of this would of ever happen, the mother was thinking about her death and inheritance issues and she is not even dead instead of thinking about living the moment now the daughter is having fun with her winnings and the mother is mad because that could of been her enjoying the money. I hope in the end mother and daughter can get past this ordeal.
Yeah I kind of agree. Why the long wait to file the lawsuit? If you believed the ticket was yours and your daughter took all the money when she cashed in the ticket, wouldn't you pursue getting it back a lot sooner?
I'm thinking maybe the daughter actually won and for whatever reason cut the mother out of any winnings and then the mom decided to file a lawsuit when she realized she wasn't going to get any of it.
Regardless of who you believe, the mother or the daughter...one thing sticks out to me. The daughter was living at home during the win and her comment that the ticket was hers, always was and the mom "is not entitled" to a bit of it.... Maybe your mom is not "entitled" but she is your mom who fed and housed you all your life...You mom "deserves" some help (physically or mentally ill) and this daughter is a "LOSER" even if it was her ticket.
Someone is lying big time - l don't know who but it's going to get a whole lot uglier before calm sets in.
“She’s not entitled to any of it.” Is that how you payback your MOTHER?. I'll bet she goes crawling back to dear old mom, when the money runs out, if it hasn't run out already. Some peoples' kids, ghetto-fabulous and no brains. Just give your Mom half, after taxes.
First of all: addressing her Mother as " she" is a disgrace. There is a Higher Power that is watching this and will hold her accountable.
* Whatever happened to Honor thy Father & Mother while on the earth so that all may go well with you?
Or, perhaps, her mother had breasts infections (or a different major problem) and couldn't breastfeed this middle daughter. LOL!
Regardless, a sad story both ways. May Barbara Quiles reclaim her better health, and if she is suffering from undiagnosed mental problems these past few years, may she receive aid and relief sooner than later.
The mother has an older daughter and didn't ask that daughter to solely claim the ticket, or co-claim it with the 21 year old? That makes no sense.
Her reason for having her daughter claim it is ridiculous. She's only 48 or 49 at the time of the win. Assuming she doesn't die of an ill-timed accident, she has decades of life ahead of her. Certainly a life filled with medical expenses, but a long life nonetheless. Am I to believe her biggest worry was inheritance issues when she's living on disability?
You'd think she'd take care of her health and get a life insurance policy to cover the kids after she's gone, or set up a good trust fund.
She waited over 2 years to try to stake her claim. Why?
Sorry but both her story and her reasoning is full of holes. The daughter claimed it and paid taxes on it. Unless mommy dearest has witnesses or corroborating evidence, it's not hers.
Either she tried to pull a scam and got scammed in return, which I'm okay with, or she's full of it and wants to claim something that isn't hers to claim.
My aunt had lupus, but she was an avid lottery player. Highly doubt she would've let it get in the way of claiming a big win!
Sorry, but I have no sympathy for the mom. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree so I have a feeling there is more to this story.
If possession of Nine-Tenths of the law then...
If someone wants someone else to represent them as a claimant for a lottery prize there is paper work to be filled out even if they are your children. She should have spent the extra time and money seeking the advice of a lawyer.
Exactly right, this is nothing but greed. How in the world could you turn your back on family, especially a sick mother. Even if the ticket was the daughter's I'd still take care of my family. One thing is for sure she'll pay one day. Money comes and goes as young as she is my bet is that money will be gone one day because it won't be managed right and she'll regret some things. Unless her mother was an abusive alcoholic non caring mother as a child that may be a different circumstance that no one would know for sure maybe that's why but I would still probably helped in some way. IDK. Money changes some people and greed is all too real in this day and time.
Oh puh-lease. CPS was created because not every person who brings a child into this world should be a parent. Don't just assume the mother is a saint just because she's sickly. And chances are what the daughter was doing living at home was caring for the mother and her little sister. People with all of her issues need assistance and no way could she afford a private healthcare worker. She has a 29 year old daughter who doesn't appear anywhere in this picture, why? You'd think she'd have something to say if her sickly caring mother got bilked. People hear of a child leaving the mother high and dry and just assume the child is an ungrateful rat. Two sides to this story and the mother's tale of woe makes no sense.
"Am I to believe her biggest worry was inheritance issues when she's living on disability? "
It's very unlikely that she'll die with an estate that will be taxed, but she could easily die with a millions dollars of debt. Whatever her estate has, including any lottery winnings, will be used towards paying off the debt and there probably won't be anything left for any of the kids to inherit.
Not that that means her story is any more plausible.
Barbara Quiles is suing her daughter Linza Ford for allegedly stealing her New York Lottery Jackpot winnings that her daughter claimed on her behalf in 2012.
A woman who identified herself over the phone as Quiles’ sister said, “This is causing her a lot of stress, This whole situation is making her very nervous, she's not doing well."
Asked if she still plays the lottery, Quiles said, “I still pick up a ticket or two, but now I go in with a dream but no dollar.”
One can Learn a lot about people's personalities from the comments they post on a serious topic.No finger pointing...Just an observation!
Remember the women in Detroit who was arrested for fraud because she didn't report her million dollars lottery winnings for fear of losing her food stamps and public assistance. Even her family didn't think she did anything wrong as they said she still need the public assistance inspite of her lottery winnings. People have funny ideas about money.
Not related to this story, but this fits the dumb thieves category. Thieves stole sunglasses from a car in Seattle, and underneath was a Powerball ticket..turns out it was a million dollar ticket. Saw that on GMA this morning.
Thief steals cheap sunglasses, unknowingly leaves behind $1 million
SEATTLE — Among a list of things you shouldn’t leave in your car, a winning lottery ticket tops the charts.
Thankfully, for one Seattle couple, luck does strike twice.
According to the Washington Lottery, the couple left a $1 million winning Powerball ticket in their car for three months before realizing it was a winner. The ticket, purchased from Iman’s in the 2000 block of NW Market Street in February, sat idle in the car because the couple didn’t realize one could win something other than the jackpot.
“We didn’t even think about a second chance prize,” the couple told the Washington Lottery.
Over the course of three months, someone even broke into the vehicle. However, all the thief stole was a pair of sunglasses.
Sunglasses, the couple said, that were sitting directly atop the winning lotto ticket.
“What a close call!” the couple said.
When they finally got around to checking the winning ticket on May 14, the couple realized their double-luck. Champagne was popped and Plans were quickly made.
“We’re planning a trip to Paris and Iceland for this year,” the couple said.
It just goes to show… some people are just lucky.
to have to deal with any legal inheritance issues if she died
Crazy lady. All that medication screwed her head up and now's she's worried about the money. Don't see how they can sue if the NYL already did their investigation.
Wouldnt be surprised if the thief sues, saying it was their ticket that they lost in that car they were breaking into...