Anonymity might not last for billion-dollar jackpot winner
By Kate Northrop
The winner of the $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot is suing the mother of his child for allegedly telling his family about the lottery win.
An anonymous Maine man who won the $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot is accusing the mother of his child of blabbing about his win and is taking legal action in retaliation.
In February, one lucky winner stepped forward to claim the then-fourth-largest lottery jackpot in history (it is currently the sixth-largest) from the Mega Millions drawing on Jan., 13, 2023. He opted for the one-time lump sum payment of $723.56 million and would have received just over $404 million after taxes.
Since he had the option of claiming the winnings under a trust to keep his identity hidden, it was fairly certain that we would never know who he is.
However, that might very well change. Now, he's accusing the mother of his child of letting news of the win slip to his own parents, and depending on how tightly their lips are sealed, it remains to be seen whether the game of telephone has taken off in full swing.
Named only as "John Doe" in the lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday, he is seeking damages from the woman, known as "Sara Smith," for revealing the win and potentially jeopardizing his public identity and safety.
On Feb. 8, two weeks before he claimed the prize, "Sara" signed an NDA saying that she must keep the jackpot win a secret until their daughter comes of age on June 1, 2032 to "avoid irreparable harm of allowing the media or the public in general to discover" his identity, physical location, assets, and their daughter. In exchange, "John" agreed to provide her with support and ongoing security resources.
Documents state that a breach of the NDA would entitle "John" to "legal and equitable relief... without the requirement or necessity of proving actual damages." This could include monetary damages and the cost of attorney fees and expenses accrued by "John" following a breach.
Should "Sara" violate the NDA, whether by accident or deliberately, her contract required that she disclose the breach to "John." She did not divulge the violation to him after allegedly revealing the win to his father and stepmother over the phone. His sister then discovered the news through the grapevine, and it's possible more people know.
Documents say that the unauthorized disclosure of the news resulted in "John" suffering "irreparable injury," and that "there is immediate and imminent danger that 'John Doe' will continue to suffer irreparable injury for which there is no adequate remedy at law."
The winner's lawsuit demands that she reveal every single person she's told and that she pay a $100,000 fine for every time she broke the NDA in addition to attorney fees and court costs incurred.
"I understand why someone would want to remain anonymous with this kind of money," a representative said on behalf of the winner while claiming the prize in February. "We wish them well and hope they do good things with it."
l told you all being Anonymous will not protect you from Danger. I mentioned external threat by strangers and internal threat by family. If you go public you increase external threat true and if you go Anonymous you increase internal Threat . So the best thing really is to level your threat by not being Anonymous enjoy your life to the fullest
This is the burden of winning the lottery I guess.
And you know what, I still want to win it and so do millions of other hopefuls.
So am going to buy my PB and MM ticket.
I won't be signing any NDA with anyone - no one needs to know that I won anything.
We forge ahead with the lessons learnt - don't trust even those closest to you, lol 🤣🤣🤣
Mum's the Word:
https://www.freep.com/story/life/advice/2016/05/19/carolyn-hax-careful-trust-secrets/84293964/
Billion Dollar Whiners Can Afford Billion Dollar Security...
Get Over It!
lol i am so co-signing that, truth. i agree,wholly, with JADE.
Good morning, afternoon #facts
funny she told, and i am going to see if he win his suit, i doubt it, but more so, she doesn't have big funds to pay the guy who "hid"it from the MAN WOMAN who gave u life. smh
Proof money cannot buy you happiness. Sounds like it went to his head.
* The question is always- why? Maybe she was hoping he would propose to her since his ship finally came in & she would be set for life. Seems there is no way back into his good graces for now- mother of his child or not.
*What's that Taylor Swift song " Bad Blood."
So they are not married or living together, I assume. So why did he tell her in the first place? He could have increased his child support without disclosing the win. Tell no one unless you are legally required to do so like a joint marital asset.
some folks are alive today, 'cause its illegal to hunt them for sport
Under his state law and the child courts he is required to disclose any increase in wealth. This then gets turned over to the courts for re evaluation of the adult support errrr...i mean the mislabeled child support. He did his due diligence by creating a NDA and still following the court increase. He has every legal right to enforce the contract and seek damages .
He had his reasons for not telling his family. All parents/siblings aren't good people. She violated her agreement. I hope he wins. Problem is she is raising his child.
Move up the northern half of that state....It's rural enough so folks won't have any interest in his activities. Or live over the border in N.H.
I assumed it was some sort of informal support and not court ordered. He could have asked the family court not to share the source of his new wealth but still disclose the amount. But by the amount, she would have figured it out.
NDAs can be tricky to enforce. If the court first outed the lottery win to her, it will complicate matters. I hope he wins. We should all appreciate his efforts here. We might get some great case law to start the ball rolling again on the anonymity issue for states.
Once a blabbermouth, always a blabbermouth.
BobP
Strange how these winners choose to be anonymous and then eventually put themselves in the spotlight after the glitter fades.
If you are that afraid of someone in your family finding out you won a big jackpot, then don't buy a ticket.
There's more to the story and she must have had a very good reason to tell only his father and step mother. She specifically did not blab to coworkers and friends like a dummy, which is a point in her favor. Why is the winner on poor terms with his father and step mother? Sounds like a dysfunctional family. I look forward to hearing her side.
His parents could be drug addicts, alcoholics or criminals. They could be nice people he just doesn't like. Doesn't matter. It's his choice of whom he wants to share the news with. Blabber mouth should have respected that.
No the money did not go to his head. He wanted to remain anonymous but his big MISTAKE was telling the mother of his child. He should have kept it a secret from her and just proved money for the child and not tell where the money was coming from. Unfortunately most people don't know how to keep their mouth closed, always spilling secrets.
So true but unfortunately I put the blame on him. As the lottery winner HE should not have told her. All he needed to do was provide money for the child and not tell the mother where the money was coming from, make up a story. There was a guy who won 22 million dollars in the lottery some years ago, to this day he STILL has the bulk of his money. When he won, he knew his wife could keep a secret so he told her. He did not ever tell his children. He said he did not tell his children because he did not want them to become "WAITERS" (waiting for him to die so they can get the money). When his mother's house needed a new roof, he paid for it. His mother than asked where did he get the money to do that and he said when his uncle passed away he left him money so he was using that. Most of already know which of our family and friends can keep secrets and which can't, if one must tell someone they won the lottery.
$`100K for each infarction? presumptuous of me to say she probably doesn't have a pot to pee in.
Cutoff Sarah. That's what I'd do. G5
You can never remain anonymous. You buy a house or a car and someone will figure it out and blab it.
I see he's not trying to get custody of the his daughter, why not? The ex is clearly out of control ....
OMG Man, she was talking to his Parents...( sarcasm).
This case may show us exactly the level of anonymity one gets with a major lottery win. I assume lottery officials must be bound by some sort of employment agreement for lottery winners. The IRS knows. But what about others who had no legal right to know? I would be furious as well. As others have mentioned, make up a story about an inheritance. Some people have no class and will ask personal financial questions. I always act concerned and ask if they are having money issues and will help them find a financial counselor. Why would you be asking me nosy financial questions unless you are having issues. Is it due to gambling or drugs or an affair on the side? They quickly go away. Lol
I agree, there is more to this story. At what point did he obtain the NDA ..... before or after he told her about the win or could it of been a blanket NDA obtained at the time of support was being negotiated? How could he of known she would sign it if he told her first. So if it was before she could not disclose it to the courts in order to ask for an increase.
In this day and age there is no true way to remain anonymous. Banks know, the Irs knows , your attorney...etc. All of which it only takes one unscrupulous person needing money to sell your name. Anyone within your circle , family and friends, can become a target for kidnap and should be notified so they can be aware of surroundings. Regardless of whether they are good or bad people it's morally wrong to not advise them that they could be in harms way.
So did the grandparents let her go places the mother was concerned about for safety reasons? Maybe the daughters safety was worth more than violating a NDA ? Wouldn't you at least want the daughter to know she has to be mindful of what she does ? Maybe she noticed the security following her ?
Hopefully there is a follow up to this story.
He shouldn't have told anyone about his lottery win. If anything, he could have just sent the mother of his child larger child support payments.
She could disclose it to the court as long as it was not a public filing and asked for the judge to review the info in camera. This process is used for sensitive or confidential info. There is always a judicial or law enforcement exception to NDAs and other private agreements.
Yes, you may be right about that. But still too much missing from the story.