EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — A Wisconsin woman who won the lottery will not be receiving all her winnings due to thousands of dollars of outstanding debts.
Thursday it was announced that Valerie Diestelmeier won the first top prize of $100,000 playing the Incredible Crossword Scratch game.
Diestelmeier purchased her winning ticket at the Mega Holiday on Water Street in Eau Claire.
However, Patty Mayers with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue says she'll have to pay off thousands of dollars in unpaid fines before she sees any of the prize money
"When a lottery winner wins $600 or more we automatically check that person for any state debt that might be outstanding and if any are discovered the winnings are used to offset that state debt before that winning balance will go to that individual," explained Mayers.
Diestelmeier is finding herself in that position after the Eau Claire County Courthouse says she owes more than $11,000 in fines from around 40 different court cases.
The Wisconsin Lottery says it has the standard policy in place to make sure it catches individuals like Diestelmeier and cover their state debt.
"The Wisconsin Lottery, its mission is to provide property tax relief," added Mayers. "It's very important to us that despite the fact that it's a fun game to play, that the lottery is a fun form of entertainment for a lot of people, we want to make sure that if indeed they have any outstanding state debt that those are covered before the winnings are awarded."
The lottery says winners like Diestelmeier should receive any winnings leftover after their debt is paid.
Local news reporters visited Diestelmeier's home during the day to see if she had any comment but nobody appeared to be home. Friday night the winner and her husband said while Diestelmeier has pending fines, it's not important. They say winning the lottery was a good thing.
They'll clear up their debt with the State and have some left to enjoy.
Owing the state 11k on 40 different cases is quite perplexing. If any of those were traffic citations, she should have had her DL suspended or a warrant outstanding for her arrest.
Valerie should not be in the least surprised. The IRS does the same thing.You owe them outstanding tax money, they going to come for it. Why should the State be any different? This is common knowledge, but there is a reason most States want you to claim $600 and up by fillng in a form. They want to see whether you owe back child support, outstanding DMV violation fines etc.etc.* You, had better have all your "i" dotted & "t" crossed before claiming your prize. IOW * in other words- you better have your S*** together.
Valerie's running days are over with. Forty different court cases? Someone there didn't do their homework; you'd think she would have been arrested long ago. Then again these could be minor infractions.
Good job Wisconsin lottery...who knows she might get even less if this does not include court costs. Enjoy what's left!
Valerie
......You need to adhere to the law,pay your respective debts to society....and stay ta heck out of trouble.
Congrats on your win.
Could ole Val have had an epiphany after realizing how much she won and thought " I am gonna go pay all that court stuff off, because I have won more than I owe" ?... She might have !!!....buuuuuuuuuuuuuut my money is on she wasn't aware that they would take that out of her winnings.....After all,she racked up $11,000 in pending fines... Which leads me to believe she is a different type of CSI..........A Crayon Sharpening Instructor...... time will tell
So I guess some don't read what is mentioned here in the article. She had to pay up unpaid debts which actually lead into a credit report.
If that is the case, then the lottery commission in that state is doing their jobs. Pay up whatever debts and move on. Simple as that.
I had to read over what you commented on. Correct. Let the one's that are owed unpaid debts get their money and then what she owes to the govt or even anything out standing put it in acct or something and then she won't have to worry about it. It's better to be safe then sorry. I agree with you on what you stated.
Take out what she owes and cut her a check for the remainder. But the state issuing public statements like this and the press knocking on her door is just creepy.
I would honestly put the money some place for the next tax season and have it reserved for whomever she has to pay out too. Lesson learned. She thought she could get away with whatever and actually agree with the state decision. This way she has nothing to hide. People need to be careful what they do.
LMFAO!!! She might not get anything. What if some places add interests to her problems and headaches!
If the winnings are $100k, then taxes taken out I don't see this being worth it.
You're absolutely right. So basically she sounds stupid. When she won the ticket she should have known better. Agreed to your statement. Why didn't they do anything?
Maybe they are thinking something will happen and look what happened. Worse comes to worse call the 1800 gambling hotline number and put her name in it then she really gets screwed.
Trial by social media is a phrase popular in the late 20th century and early 21st century to describe the impact of social media coverage on a person's reputation by creating a widespread perception of guilt or innocence of a person without a trial and without knowing all the facts.
http://www.thatsnonsense.com/3-stories-demonstrate-trial-social-media-dangerous/
This situation shows how some winners evade their debts and sell their tickets to another who will buy it at a discounted price. This has been discussed in other recent posts. The buyers say it is luck when confronted with State Lottery records.
Bring back the dunking stool!
Don't understand why they have to go public with this. Just take what she owes and be finished with it.
Apparently, they want their money AND a pound of flesh.
People are regressing to harsher times in the name of Justice.
MW, It is a government run entity, public has the right to know.While the freedom of information is wonderful thing, it can cut both ways. It will also let the folks know about owing funds to the state comes first,in case they werent aware. You know, that free education thing... Besides,people luuuuvv to talk
Great story. They absolutely should be publicizing this. The "winner" deserves the bad publicity that is a result of her own irresponsibility.
The Louisville paper prints out a huge list of all delinquent taxpayers every year. It is public knowledge. This goes for corporations and individuals.
Ohh drats! So claiming anonymously won't stop the debts from being paid or investigated.
Two facts: she is claiming the prize payout. And the past dues will be rendered. Beyond that uncle Sam should be penalized for not paying it's debts...yet we continue to hand over taxes or penalties to the very source that demonstrates debt thwarting...
Especially those dead beats that owe child support.
Interesting....some some who have pleaded the 'right to know' line when talking about winners not being allowed to remain anonymous in the case the 'right to know' gets a completely different reaction.
MAYBE it is time we shame lotteries that CHEAT US, like NCEL....As crooked as the day is long!
(Yes, they cheat with their lil' white ping-pong balls and pre-taped drawings, just ask anyone that had played NC for any amount of time!)
Well, apparently Corporations have the same rights as all us people. It does in the elections here in the US and I guess it goes with the lottery commissions as well.
I mean I do agree with you about your last statement be finished so this day in age everything is out there. Isn't that what a credit report is supposed to be all about?
The two people that any members question about this problem is two people. A lawyer and an accountant. Go ask your tax preparers and go ask a lawyer as well.
Great way to pay off a debt and have enough left over to enjoy.
Congrats to the winner.
Why did the lottery publicize her business like that? She won, deduct what she owes and cut her a check for the balance. Is this the first time they've had a winner with outstanding debt?
They sending a message to all future lottery winners Z. If u win, you required to pay your past dues. I remember paying a few fines for overdue library books, didn’t you? Valarie is lucky they didn’t track her down earlier & fit her with an ankle monitor.
I agree.
https://www.wilottery.com/files/pressrelease/IncredibleCrosswordInstantTicketHasFirst$100,000TopPrizeWinner%20....pdf
This is what the Wisconsin lottery put out for a statement on their website. What my suspicions are is that some Nosey Nellie started digging into her background and found out this information, then contacted that gal at the Dept.of Revenue and asked questions.
People in this country can't shut their GD mouths or keep to themselves. From politicians to porn stars, people want to dig dirt up and flaunt it about other people... "look what I know, look what I found out about this person".
Glass houses and throwing stones, folks............ Those that want to live on the edge, will also some day fall off it.
Just my 2 pennies
Something tells me she'll be in debt again real soon. Can't fix stupid.
LiveInGreenBay: If she spends on financial advisers and other counselors and she learns what they are trying to teach her she may keep her money.
It is those million dollars plus winners that think they know all the answers that I find difficult to understand.
.
OK, To all Lottery Post uers:
I hope and agree with all the "why did they put her on the spot. ." sort of comments . . .
Sorry, I just lost my train of thought on that last one.
Please try this next one.
I hope that all Lottery Post members will seriously consider what's happened in this story.
If you play, please learn to expect anything from the state/county/Federal authorities, in the event of any big win.
OK? Very important to do so. You don't want to be caught "holding the bag", due to some strange, related issue, associated with your mega win.
ASSUME NOTHING FROM ANYONE, EVER.
(a.n.f.a.e. )
Do you have outstanding debts to the State? Even to any commercial credit cards?
Make it priority #1 to pay everyone off. Have/Leave no debts, or certainly maintain an effort to that end, if you play the lotto(s).
Up until recently, I'd been several $thousand in debt. I'm now down to the "high hundreds".
(oh yeah groppo? It seems you were looking at a rather pricey motorcycle jacket, lately.
yes, I know, but I've since put that on the back burner. this article made me consider a much cheaper one, and I'm in a different state. Still, I will remember "anfae".)
"If she spends on financial advisers and other counselors ..."
And if the tooth fairy screws up and leaves a million bucks under her pillow every week she'll really be on easy street, but I'm going to bet on reality instead. She'll collect about 89k from the state, minus 25k in federal withholdings and several grand for Wisconsin taxes. Until she files returns next year she'll have perhaps 60k. Do you really think she'll be spending any of that on a financial adviser?
And as far as people digging up all of the information, records about your criminal activity as an adult are part of the public record. 11 grand from 40 cases is an average of $275 each so I'll guess that they're likely to be mostly parking or traffic infractions. I wouldn't argue against the idea that a few minor infractions or your first misdemeanor shouldn't be public, but when you rack up 40 cases that you haven't paid the fines for my sympathies are going elsewhere.
Yes...
One of the reasons it made public news is that it is 40 (FORTY) outstanding cases. If she is ignoring or missing court dates then that is another set of problems that will catch up to her.
She should count her lucky stars that someone in the court house didn't have their ducks in a row. With 40 unpaid whatever they could have had an warrant for her arrest could have been issued or garnished her wages. Something on that end hasn't made sense to me from the get-go. Maybe they just don't bother with petty 'crimes' like this?
Part of me has no pity on her trying to beat the system, the other part says there could be extenuating circumstances though inclined to believe the former not the latter.
Some comments from the local news where Valerie lives.
http://www.weau.com/content/news/Eau-Claire-lottery-winner-owes-thousands-of-dollars-in-state-debt-482420701.html
I second that.
I just looked her up. All her info is up on any search engine. She is just stupid. Well, if a lottery winner does win and accumulates winnings like that, then yes they will get exposed. Honestly, she needs counseling, she need to talk to a financial person.
She will go debt again that is for sure. If those getting their debts back look on her facebook, she is screwed. She sounds boring too. Isn't it interesting how the internet works?
Except for bankruptcies.
True, however, does the lotteries in each state and commonwealth have something in fine print to protect themselves from a lawsuit too. Do you follow me?
I do agree I heard someone in Fl. won a million or more from either state or no it was Powerball and exposed that winner.