Iowa man accused of lottery fraud for cashing ticket on friend's behalf

Comment #35

HoLeeKau — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 13:51:59 GMT

Looks like they're going to prove Hansen's motive by getting the testimony of other people he tried to get to cash his ticket.

I'm surprised at the charge against Hay though. Why not charge him as an accessory in defrauding the courts or whomever it is that's responsible for making sure Child Support is paid? If Hansen told the other people why he wanted them to cash his ticket, then it can be assumed that Hay knew what he was doing.

Comment #34

Ophiuchus — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 22:42:14 GMT

But whhhhyy couldn't they just over look the bag ... I'd offer up my Cut in taxes and say I am not responsible for whether a grow man pays his bills ot taxes ... Cheezy lawyer

Comment #33

whynot789 — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 16:47:15 GMT

THANK YOU

Comment #32

whynot789 — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 02:22:26 GMT

I still dont see an issue. Lets take a smaller example... say I win $4 on Powerball. Can I give that ticket to a FRIEND as a GIFT?

Regardless if its $4 or 200 million. Why cant I give it to whoever I please for WHATEVER reason I want?....and did the defendant ADMIT he has malice intent OR is it assumed because of his past debts? Also, say I win 200 million, can I hand that ticket (not yet signed) over to a charity?

Jon

Comment #31

noise-gate — Sat, 03 Apr 2021 21:28:15 GMT

Iowa-So much going on there- From Hot Lotto to Fields of dreams. What's not to love.

Comment #30

GiveFive — Sat, 03 Apr 2021 21:16:11 GMT

I too think Hays was well aware of exactly what Hanson's situation was with regard to Hanson's child support being in arrears and back taxes. And that's probably because Hanson told him all about it. (And they could be related too - cousins or brothers-in-law.)

But the thing is, how can the prosecutor possibly know (not to mention prove beyond a reasonable doubt) exactly what or was not in Hay's head? Judges always say You can not tell me what was in the defendant's head. That's hearsay. The... [ More ]

Comment #29

Stack47 — Sat, 03 Apr 2021 18:03:09 GMT

it's a pretty weird situation, but we're talking about Iowa where a New York lawyer tried to redeem a $16 million Hot Lotto ticket bought in Iowa just hours before the ticket expired. Maybe they do background checks on all the people accompanying the winner.

This ticket was cashed in 2018 so pandemic was not an issue.

Comment #28

Stack47 — Sat, 03 Apr 2021 17:43:39 GMT

The article doesn't say if Hanson was charged with anything and the allegations against Hays are he cashed the ticket so Hanson could avoid paying back taxes and child support. Hays will probably say he cashed the ticket because Hanson offered him a few thousand to do it.

Most state lotteries suggest and promote buying scratch-offs as stocking stuffers at Christmas time and people give money as presents too. Couldn't find any Iowa law making it illegal to resell or gift lottery tickets. Becau... [ More ]

Comment #27

GiveFive — Sat, 03 Apr 2021 14:01:21 GMT

It definitely would be interesting provided a criminal trial held in open court comes to fruition. My guess is a plea deal will be offered to both of them and that they'll accept it and a jury trial wont ever happen.

But who knows! Both defendants are gamblers, maybe they've got the nerve to go to trial. The prosecutor has to be able to prove their original intent/motivation was to avoid paying child support and back taxes. Based upon the knowledge he/she has, the prosecutor must think they... [ More ]

Comment #26

KY Floyd — Sat, 03 Apr 2021 07:13:47 GMT

But that's not what happened here.

Based on the claims related in the story that certainly sounds plausible, and maybe ev en likely, but can you prove it beyond a reasonable doubt? Even in Hays wrote check to Hanson for most of the prize value, how do you prove the reason for doing it? Maybe when he found out that the ticket his very good friend with all of the financial woes gave him so generously he felt that it wouldn't be fair to keep the money. That's another thing that's plausible (I w... [ More ]

Comment #25

Big Joey — Sat, 03 Apr 2021 01:34:45 GMT

It belongs to the person purchasing the ticket unless you use the additional Claim Form 5754, to claim it together.

Comment #24

Stack47 — Sat, 03 Apr 2021 00:13:39 GMT

Skyler Sturgis Hay, 29, allegedly committed the offense in 2018 when he visited Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive with friend Nicholas Martin Hanson, 41, to claim a prize for a winning scratch-off ticket worth $50,000. However, the ticket belonged to Hanson, who owed Child Support Recovery, taxes to the state of Iowa, college student loans, and various other debts to numerous entities.

Won't comment on whether or not the Iowa Lottery can prove that Hays knew why Hanson gave or sold the tick... [ More ]

Comment #23

Stack47 — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 23:57:19 GMT

Found this when I googled is it illegal to cash a lottery ticket you didn't buy :

It is not illegal to sell a winning lottery ticket, even for more than it's worth. But a host of problems surround the transaction. Any cash transaction of more than $10,000 needs to be reported to the IRS, and attempts to circumvent that retirement are a crime. You would also need to report the money as income.

Probably why Hanson wasn't charged. The ticket was cashed and paid over two years ago, but apparen... [ More ]

Comment #22

reddog — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 22:47:35 GMT

This is nothing new at all. Illegals do it all the time in N.C. I was at the Raleigh claim office and have seen it for my own eyes because the guy didn't have a social security card and he was calling different ones on his cell phone who had one to come to Raleigh and claim it for him.

Comment #21

GiveFive — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 19:07:07 GMT

That's illegal . Right. The crime he committed is called fraud. G5

Comment #20

noise-gate — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 18:54:04 GMT

l see your point, but the article does not say how much time has expired between Hays cashing the ticket him being apprehended. Sufficient time had passed for Nicholas to buy the TV, the vacation to Vegas etc etc. as l mentioned, word had to have gotten to the female or females of this story who l think got law enforcement involved to end up nailing Hays subsequently- Hanson. The bridge in this story goes through the female or females- IMO.Perhaps, in a fit of anger with the mother of his child

Comment #19

Stack47 — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 18:41:59 GMT

Hays successfully claimed Hanson's winnings.

If the winnings belonged to Hanson, why was Hays' name on the check and why didn't Hanson say his ticket was stolen or lost?

It's probably obvious to anyone reading this article Hanson was looking for someone to cash the ticket to avoid paying back taxes and child support. So let's call that a given if it can be proved in a court of law. But it's Hays not Hanson that is accused of falsely cashing in a $50,000 winning scratch-off ticket. Withou... [ More ]

Comment #18

noise-gate — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 17:57:00 GMT

Hays successfully claimed Hanson's winnings.

Plan A was a success, it's Nicholas's action that followed that got him in hot water. My guess is word got out that he was flush with cash, but he was not following through on paying back child support as he should have. Had he initially done the right thing, we would not be reading this.

Moral of the story: Don't mess with Motherhood.

Comment #17

Bleudog101 — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 15:59:26 GMT

Can't speak for all state lotteries, but many require an appointment. With the pandemic I seriously doubt they'd even let those characters to go in with you. A moot point.

Comment #16

DrMiracle — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 15:49:20 GMT

Why Hanson went with Hay to pick up the prize at the lottery headquarter? If Hanson knew he would be in trouble, he should have sent Hay by himself to pick up the money.

PRIVACY QUESTION.

Suppose I won $25000, and I go with my brother, friend, co-worker to pick up the winning prize at the same lottery headquarter,

So THEY ARE GOING TO CHECK the BACKGROUND FOR ALL THE PEOPLE THAT SHOWS UP WITH ME.

THEN, IF my co-worker owes child-support to the States, then we all are in

Comment #15

Bleudog101 — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 12:17:51 GMT

Very well said, Todd.

Just re-read your article. So this character skating under the radar for various issues and tried to get over and got outed. Wheels of justice turn slowly and perhaps his wages will get garnished which they should---if he works that is.

Comment #14

Todd — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 11:09:27 GMT

If you just wanted to gift your friend the lottery ticket with no strings attached, then that's fine. But that's not what happened here.

This guy gave it to the friend to redeem so that they could avoid paying back taxes, child support, etc., and then the friend gave most of the winnings back to the original winner. That's illegal. It's like declaring bankruptcy while secretly hiding assets from the court. That puts you in jail.

Comment #13

Big Joey — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 08:00:10 GMT

So, the legal owner is the person that purchased the ticket as recorded on video surveillance. The lottery has access to the transaction.

Comment #12

whynot789 — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 00:05:15 GMT

I see NOTHING wrong with what they did. So if I have a winning ticket, I cannot GIVE IT (as a gift) to a friend of mine??

Thats BS.

Jon

Comment #11

Bleudog101 — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 23:24:08 GMT

Not sure if you are saying MUSL and Iowa are one in the same. They are not and Tipton worked for MUSL.

Comment #10

Stack47 — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 22:40:12 GMT

Another problem is the Iowa Lottery already gave the winnings to Hays believing he was the real owner. I just don't see the difference between Hanson buying the ticket and giving to Hays and someone buying scratch-offs as Christmas presents.

I'm sure the lottery will argue that he only pretended to be the owner

Hays became the owner when Hanson gave hit the ticket. It will be interesting to see how the lottery plans on proving when the ticket changed hands. Can they prove Hanson scratch... [ More ]

Comment #9

KY Floyd — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 21:50:04 GMT

If they're saying the legal owner is the person that purchased the ticket

They're not, because they can't. They can try to sort out who the owner is, but they don't get to decide. The purchaser may buy a ticket on behalf of somebody else who would then be the owner right from the start, or the purchaser may own the ticket when they buy it and then legally gift it to somebody else. As long as the ticket was purchased legally the original owner can legally transfer ownership under normal circu... [ More ]

Comment #8

MillionsWanted — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 20:37:46 GMT

Does that mean they had surveillance video of Hanson buying the ticket

Comment #7

Stack47 — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 17:57:29 GMT

An associate of a lottery winner pleaded not guilty to lottery fraud and the fraud is for turning in a winning lottery ticket that reportedly did not belong to him.

If they're saying the legal owner is the person that purchased the ticket than anyone getting a scratch-off as a Christmas present and simply cashing a free ticket could get arrested. And how about the dumpster diving industry or someone finding a ticket in a parking lot?

Most lottery rules and regulations are consistent and m... [ More ]

Comment #6

Bleudog101 — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 11:06:18 GMT

Well the Iowa lottery does not play....look how long they investigated and got convictions in that infamous MUSL case. The book about it was a very good read and though it was like looking for a needle in a haystack they won in the end

Comment #5

HaveABall — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 07:16:07 GMT

I wonder if Mr. Hay even knew his friend was a father and/or had huge other related uncancelable debts.

Research people you want to become friends with.

Comment #4

Tony Numbers — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 23:50:31 GMT

Looks like Mr.Hay.'s taxes were worse than Minnesota's taxes.

Comment #3

Coin Toss — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 22:02:51 GMT

Sending in a 'beard' doesn't always work.

Comment #2

Bleudog101 — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 20:11:16 GMT

A few years back @ a casino near Indy guy wins jackpot. Instead of taking him in a back room, they were rather uncouth as you couldn't help but hear them tell him he owed child support and this would be taken out of the jackpot win.

Comment #1

MatrixMan369 — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 18:21:22 GMT

No such thing as easy money. it comes back to bite you in the end.

Iowa man accused of lottery fraud for cashing ticket on friend's behalf

Lottery Post — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 18:14:43 GMT

Friend of lottery winner pleads not guilty

By Kate Northrop

An associate of a lottery winner pleaded not guilty to lottery fraud after being accused of falsely cashing in a $50,000 winning scratch-off ticket.

The Fort Dodge man was charged with one count of lottery fraud, a Class D felony classified as forgery or theft of a ticket, for turning in a winning lottery ticket that reportedly did not belong to him.

Skyler Sturgis Hay, 29, allegedly committed the offense in 2018 when he vis... [ More ]