$1.3 billion Mega Millions lottery winner's family sues him for not sharing jackpot

Comment #54

KY Floyd — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 06:45:13 GMT

They are in Maine which honors a verbal agreement.

1. Is there a state that doesn't honor verbal contracts?

2. How do you prove what the contractual terms are when you haven't written down what the terms are

Comment #53

TemplarLoyalty — Fri, 31 May 2024 03:48:10 GMT

I don't know about the family not having a claim. They are in Maine which honors a verbal agreement. An example would be Marie Holmes who won Powerball a few years ago. She promised to tithe $1.5M to her church and the Pastor evidently invested the money he had yet to receive into building an addition to their church. When she backed out, he sued her for $10M for emotional duress and won.

I think when people hit big like that, in the rush of emotions shock, they tend to do or say stupid thin... [ More ]

Comment #52

Lotterologist — Thu, 23 May 2024 06:21:13 GMT

...and as the billion dollar lottery winner should have learned, money can't buy you love.

Comment #51

Lotterologist — Tue, 21 May 2024 13:06:13 GMT

True

Comment #50

darthfury78 — Tue, 21 May 2024 12:40:34 GMT

Money can't buy a person's Trust....

Comment #49

Lotterologist — Tue, 21 May 2024 07:31:00 GMT

Moral of the story: Like The Beatles said, Money can't buy me love.

Comment #48

Artist77 — Sat, 18 May 2024 15:32:55 GMT

There was a prior lp story where the wife failed to disclose a lottery win. The judge awarded the husband all the money.

Hiding that money is illegal if you divorce. It is an asset acquired during marriage.

You do not file a joint tax return

Comment #47

db101 — Sat, 18 May 2024 07:38:39 GMT

How do you hide from your spouse the fact that you are hundreds of millions of dollars richer? Are you claiming you could hide this fact for years, or just for a short period of time? Genuinely curious what kind of relationship you have cuz I just don't see that working for long in a normal marriage. Brock, I think even Helen Keller would get an inkling.

Comment #46

Brock Lee — Sat, 18 May 2024 03:28:24 GMT

are you married to helen keller

Comment #45

JustMaybe — Sat, 18 May 2024 02:26:10 GMT

I would not tell my spouse - more to protect them than to hide it from them.

I also would want the kids to have a normal upbringing.

They won't lack anything they NEED - but they won't get everything they WANT.

Comment #44

Lotterologist — Fri, 17 May 2024 21:44:42 GMT

I had to go back and find that article. It was posted in November.

Very interesting...

Comment #43

Lotterologist — Fri, 17 May 2024 19:10:58 GMT

...he was motivated to punish the mother of his child after she rejected him notwithstanding his billion-dollar winnings.

I stated that months ago and apparently, no one believed me. I stated on the original thread about this story that the reason he told his baby mama about his billion dollar win was to impress her in hopes that she would reunite with him. I can't see why people didn't believe me.

It was so obvious.

Comment #42

Artist77 — Fri, 17 May 2024 18:41:38 GMT

You do have to tell your spouse. An asset acquired during the marriage. It might apply to common law marriages as well if your state recognizes that type of marriage.

Comment #41

darthfury78 — Fri, 17 May 2024 17:12:20 GMT

Moral of the story: Tell no one that you've won the Lottery. Create a Trust. Do the annuity. Place the winnings into blue chip stocks and hold them for 30 years. Too bad no one sees it this way....

Comment #40

Brock Lee — Fri, 17 May 2024 16:54:36 GMT

my dog is such a gossip.

Comment #39

Bleudog101 — Fri, 17 May 2024 12:13:31 GMT

On a lighter note an email came yesterday. Maybe things getting back to normal (post pandemic) with the Kentucky Lottery visiting stores. Weather permitting (?) they will be @ the end of the road @ Huck's Simpsonville, KY. Always held inside, have my KY lotto t shirt and hat ready to go to spin the wheel for prizes

Comment #38

QueenCap — Fri, 17 May 2024 11:19:21 GMT

I read that. Claiming and remaining anonymous are two different things. When you tell your baby mama, your mama, your daddy, your cousin, your grandma, grandpa, etc lol...you lose anonymity. You feel the NEED to tell it, tell your DOG, CAT, FISH

Comment #37

Artist77 — Fri, 17 May 2024 10:00:41 GMT

The winner claimed anonymously.

Comment #36

QueenCap — Fri, 17 May 2024 03:58:07 GMT

If you live in a state that allows anonymity and you don't take advantage of it....you DESERVE ALLLL the drama that comes your way.

Comment #35

Artist77 — Fri, 17 May 2024 00:19:25 GMT

NDAs work well in certain areas like mergers between companies, trade secrets, and the sharing of other proprietary info.

It is just too difficult to prove who outed a winner with an NDA breach. Unless someone is willing to say x told me y won the lottery, it is going to be difficult to follow that gossip chain and show where it originated.

This case has made me rethink my strategy if I win big. I guess having an attorney contact people to whom I want to give money, and never providing t... [ More ]

Comment #34

Sasha — Thu, 16 May 2024 20:14:05 GMT

He chose anonymity and is still anonymous. The issue is that he told his baby mama and thought that an NDA would be enough to keep his win confidential from family he didn't want knowing. He also should have had everyone he planned to give money to sign an NDA.

But still, point taken. If even with anonymity you can have this many headaches then no anonymity is an even greater detriment.

Comment #33

db101 — Thu, 16 May 2024 18:04:30 GMT

You need to reread the story. The state of Maine didn't reveal his identity, he revealed it to some family members himself. Right to privacy means nothing if you lack impulse control.

Comment #32

dannyct — Thu, 16 May 2024 17:12:56 GMT

This is exactly why lottery winner should have the right to anonymity. It is crazy for some states to require the identity of lottery winners to be made public. It is basically putting a target on their back.

Comment #31

Nodda4me — Thu, 16 May 2024 17:03:26 GMT

Comment #30

konane — Thu, 16 May 2024 16:54:10 GMT

Artist makes some really good points above. Brock Lee also made an interesting point he split the prize with a gf who isn't his baby mama . Db101 added further clarification the most plausible explanation is that they went halvsies (with gf) on purchasing some tickets for that drawing. Lotteries split prizes among members of lottery pools all the time, whether it's a pool of 2 or 20 .. That gf's existence is irrelevant to the story here My take is unless plaintiffs can prove John Doe did not hav... [ More ]

Comment #29

Sasha — Thu, 16 May 2024 16:13:53 GMT

According to the man who's trying to get a piece of the money and who hasn't presented any proof of any of his claims. He's retired law enforcement. He knows where hearsay is.

He said his son promised him these things and that he didn't want them. So why is he suing for them

Comment #28

Sasha — Thu, 16 May 2024 16:10:44 GMT

Except you don't know if that's actually the case. As I said before, if this was only about him battling with Sara and him being in the wrong then John Sr would simply have sided with Sara publicly and defended her. Instead he's suing his son for a share of the winnings so this is very much about the money for him.

The fact that in the midst of all this acrimony wealth John hasn't tried to go for custody is also telling. Why hasn't he if he's supposedly using his child to get back at Sara.... [ More ]

Comment #27

db101 — Thu, 16 May 2024 15:34:52 GMT

Well, you're right because someone here is lying.

Comment #26

godisgood — Thu, 16 May 2024 15:18:02 GMT

Did you read article, he lied and got caught doing so, because he wanted to start drama with his baby mama. He is a cold blooded despicable human being. Promised his dad all these things then reneged because father didn't want to separate himself from his granddaughters mother

Comment #25

db101 — Thu, 16 May 2024 15:17:38 GMT

It makes a lot of sense. John shared the prize with a girlfriend who wasn't Sara, so the most plausible explanation is that they went halvsies on purchasing some tickets for that drawing. Lotteries split prizes among members of lottery pools all the time, whether it's a pool of 2 or 20.

That girlfriend, whoever she was, probably split from John already. You'd have to be nuts to stay with a guy who is constantly battling with the mother of his child when you have $250 million to do literally... [ More ]

Comment #24

wander73 — Thu, 16 May 2024 14:55:22 GMT

I didn't want to put that in there. I easily won and both parties get paid. 1997

Comment #23

Bleudog101 — Thu, 16 May 2024 14:06:32 GMT

1900's...you're not that old!!

Did you win your case or were you the bad guy???LOL

Comment #22

wander73 — Thu, 16 May 2024 13:24:59 GMT

My instinct is telling me I don't quite believe portions of the story at all.

Comment #21

wander73 — Thu, 16 May 2024 13:23:13 GMT

cases are actually real not scripted. I was on a show back in the 1900s.

Comment #20

Sasha — Thu, 16 May 2024 12:12:05 GMT

Okay, that makes slightly more sense, but not much. I'm going to then assume they agreed to 50/50 split of winnings ahead of time, otherwise the tax implications remain.

I'm also back to his apparent willingness to split the $$ with someone who isn't his father, that he sued the ex for revealing the win to his father, and now the father is suing to force John to give him something.

It's possible that John is a terrible person, but if he is, I'm betting that John Sr is equally sociopath... [ More ]

Comment #19

Bleudog101 — Thu, 16 May 2024 11:01:16 GMT

Need Judge Judy to figure out this mess then award the top out of $5K

Comment #18

dickblow — Thu, 16 May 2024 08:29:40 GMT

lottery all ripoff they know which state gonna hit before the numbers are drawn!only one winner billion all that money one winner yea right fixed

Comment #17

TheGameGrl — Thu, 16 May 2024 05:56:52 GMT

Its my understanding that this sara person was under the condition to not reveal anything. NDA clause , etc.

No where did it say John had to keep his trap shut. Clearly he told his gf and possibly his Dad.

Unsure a statement is a contract when speaking with his father. Oral contracts are hard to prove in court. Just even a slight twist of wording in the conversation will or could determine if its a contract or just a joke. I've been known to jokingly say to folks, ohh sure (haha) if I w... [ More ]

Comment #16

noise-gate — Thu, 16 May 2024 02:46:02 GMT

* Reminds me of a line in a movie..

* That's was never a condition of our agreement..perhaps Sara thinks she is being treated unfairly

Comment #15

wander73 — Thu, 16 May 2024 02:35:44 GMT

I have 3 words for anybody I know nothing

Comment #14

Brock Lee — Thu, 16 May 2024 02:29:16 GMT

he split the prize with a gf who isn't his baby mama.

Comment #13

Sasha — Thu, 16 May 2024 02:19:26 GMT

So much to unpack, so many many questions

1. Kinda hard to keep a massive windfall private when you suddenly have enough funds for round-the-clock security teams for you and your daughter.

Would love to know what the cover story for that was

2. It's been advised by CFAs not to use the principal to donate or give $$ away to family/friends. Only give money away from the interest. If John had taken that advice, it means that daddy shouldn't have expected to see anything for at least 6... [ More ]

Comment #12

EnReval — Thu, 16 May 2024 01:55:14 GMT

I only hv 1of my siblings that wld try this, we gamble at casino together but I nvr swap $$ at all

she plays poker and I do bingo n slots, I will drive her to an atty to file n laugh while she signing the papers

Comment #11

DMarshal — Thu, 16 May 2024 01:49:54 GMT

Just because someone is blood, does not mean they are family.

Comment #10

Sasha — Thu, 16 May 2024 01:40:37 GMT

It doesn't make any sense for him to split the winnings by 50%. The tax implications would be horrendous for him, leaving him with less $$ than she would have, which would mean that she would have the financial upper hand, yet daddy claims the son is trying to bully Sarah due to his unlimited resources.

Either that's being incorrectly reported or it's a lie. If it's a lie, then what else is he lying about?

Daddy claims he didn't want any of the things his son said he'd give him, if tha... [ More ]

Comment #9

Bleudog101 — Thu, 16 May 2024 01:19:00 GMT

Will re-read this drama tomorrow. What a debacle. with family like that, who needs enemies

Comment #8

Artist77 — Thu, 16 May 2024 00:14:54 GMT

But money changes everyone and the baby mama and father both want money so of course they teamed up. And it probably changed him as well. If they were not seeking money from him, it would be different.

He needs to stop promising $. He cannot help himself.

Comment #7

EnReval — Thu, 16 May 2024 00:07:36 GMT

This story drained me.

if I win between MM or PB and walk away with 10-20mill, telling 2 people

if ova $100 yes will tell family n they only get a home (max $400k)n insurance, furniture and car under $30k

all this, u said she said will be shut down

everybody knows I been playing same nbr ova 20 yrs n keep copies

don't promise anything

Comment #6

Brock Lee — Wed, 15 May 2024 23:58:58 GMT

confucius say, if your dad sides with your baby mama over you, you are the problem.

i love the new detail that the prize was actually split between him and his current gf. if she has two braincells to rub together she'll ditch him and his endless baby mama drama. girl, take your half and run

Comment #5

Artist77 — Wed, 15 May 2024 23:34:21 GMT

The entire family loves drama. This is why you cannot buy the silence of someone with lottery money. It just does not work out vs a regular NDA in other situations.

Comment #4

Brock Lee — Wed, 15 May 2024 23:14:39 GMT

he sounds like a controlling nut job.

Comment #3

Powerball765 — Wed, 15 May 2024 22:56:50 GMT

At least now we know it was a He that won. l thought was a female. Seems like his money is too much headache.

Comment #2

Artist77 — Wed, 15 May 2024 22:56:34 GMT

Well, other than funds to support his child, he does not have to share his jp win. The whole family sounds like a train wreck.

I am curious about the colorful description of his attorneys alleged aggressive tactics. Hope he has a good law firm. Not sure I would suggest he has to settle with them since they have no real claim there. I would suggest he set up a trust for his daughter administered by a non family person. He then needs to move far away because this family will always want his

Comment #1

Todd — Wed, 15 May 2024 21:52:20 GMT

Seems like the winner was too clever by half.

$1.3 billion Mega Millions lottery winner's family sues him for not sharing jackpot

Lottery Post — Wed, 15 May 2024 21:24:45 GMT

Family of lottery winner bites back in scathing legal battle; winner changes his story

By Kate Northrop

The $1.3 billion Mega Millions lottery winner sued the mother of his child for revealing the win to his family, but now, his father is accusing him of going back on a promise to share the jackpot.

The family of the $1.3 billion Mega Millions jackpot winner is biting back in court, claiming he went against his word that he would share the lottery winnings.

I told him... 'You are... [ More ]