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Dad and his daughter got millions from IRS after claiming to win lottery, authorities sayNews Story
A Florida father and daughter claimed the government owed them $175 million in tax refunds on their lottery winnings. The IRS paid them $3.4 million before the agency realized the pair had never purchased a winning ticket, prosecutors say. Now, the Broward County pair, who say they're aboriginal indigenous Moorish Americans immune to government authority, are on trial in a Palm Beach federal courtroom accused of tax fraud. Court documents allege that Danielle Takeila Edmonson, 35, of Boynt
Dec 17, 2019, 10:14 am - Lottery News

SC residents to start receiving lottery rebate checks, even if they didn't playNews Story
South Carolina residents will be receiving rebate checks from the state lottery, even if they have never played a single lottery game before. The $50 checks are hitting mailboxes in the days to come, and the only qualification is paying South Carolina income taxes of $50 or greater. So far, 400,000 checks have been disbursed with more than 800,000 more to come by Dec. 2. What's this about? Last fall, a Simpsonville convenience store sold the winning ticket for the $1.5 billion Mega M
Nov 8, 2019, 2:20 pm - Lottery News

81-year-old Mass. man sentenced to prison for part in multimillion-dollar lottery ticket scamNews Story
An 81-year-old man from Lynn, Massachusetts, was sentenced Monday to two months in prison for his part in a multimillion-dollar lottery scam, according to federal prosecutors. Clarance Jones, 81, pleaded guilty in May to conspiring to commit tax fraud and filing false tax returns. The Massachusetts U.S. Attorney's office said Jones was a part of a ten-percenting scheme in which he bought millions of dollars of winning Massachusetts state lottery tickets at a discount to help winners avoid
Sep 25, 2019, 7:53 am - Lottery News

Massachusetts man pleads guilty in lottery tax fraud schemeNews Story
A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in a scheme to buy millions of dollars' worth of winning Massachusetts State Lottery tickets at a discount to help the ticket holders avoid taxes, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Clarance Jones, 80, of Lynn, Massachusetts, was arrested last fall and charged with tax fraud and filing false tax returns. Law enforcement authorities alleged he used a 10-percenting ploy to become the nation's top lottery winner. Under th
May 22, 2019, 6:25 pm - Lottery News

No sales tax on Mississippi lottery tickets, but winnings will still be taxedNews Story
The Mississippi Legislature is expected to pass a measure clarifying that tickets for state's soon to be rolling lottery are exempt from sales taxes. But the state tax man will still get his cut on lottery winnings in Mississippi: They will be taxed as income, at the same scaled rate of 3 percent to 5 percent as any other income. This is a blow to Jackson, where Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba had been counting on lottery ticket revenue from a 1-cent sales tax in the city tacked on to the 7-cen
Feb 28, 2019, 11:34 am - Lottery News

SC officials getting nervous that $1.5 billion Mega Millions winner won't claim prizeNews Story
Here's how a big money winner could end up being a bit of a money loser for South Carolina. If in a few weeks no one claims a lottery ticket worth $1.5 billion sold in the Upstate, Palmetto State lawmakers may have less money to spend in the coming fiscal year. The state expects to collect $61 million in income taxes as its share of the Mega Millions jackpot if the winner opts to take the money as a lump sum. The winner still has three months to turn over the ticket to state lottery of
Jan 23, 2019, 10:36 am - Lottery News

Illinois Lottery resumes selling Mega Millions, Powerball ticketsNews Story
By Todd Northrop The Illinois Lottery has resumed sales of Mega Millions and Powerball tickets now that the state's budget stalemate has concluded, lottery officials said. The state stopped sales late last month of the popular Powerball and Mega Millions games due to its inability to contribute to the prize pool without a budget in place. Illinois Lottery Acting Director Greg Smith announced Thursday night that sales have resumed. The Illinois Lottery is pleased to announce that sal
Jul 7, 2017, 10:42 am - Lottery News

Lottery rigging accomplice used Wisconsin payout for offshore tax scamNews Story
After Robert Rhodes collected a Wisconsin Lottery jackpot that had been rigged by his friend Eddie Tipton, he used the windfall for an investment scheme that produced another wave of undeserved government money, court records show. Rhodes, an accomplice in a scandal that has shaken state lotteries, recently explained under oath how he used the $783,000 payout to receive an additional $180,000 in bogus tax refunds. The Texas businessman sent his lottery winnings offshore to buy a phony insuran
Jul 6, 2017, 6:53 pm - Lottery News

Online Michigan lottery winners get instant notification after the drawingNews Story
If you play the Michigan Lottery online and win, expect a phone call. If you don't, keep an eye on your ticket and the phone number on the back. Anthony Frabotta, 66, of Rochester Hills played online, he kept getting phone calls until someone from Lansing got him on the phone earlier this month and informed him he had won $1 million in the Jan. 24 Mega Millions drawing. Online jackpot winners are the only ones contacted by phone, said Jeff Holyfield, a spokesman for the Michigan Lottery
Mar 1, 2017, 7:34 pm - Lottery News

Judge rules NJ couple's lottery annuity payments can't be taxed retroactivelyNews Story
A New Jersey Tax Court judge has sided with a couple who won $46 million in the state lottery in 2000 and elected to have their winnings distributed in annual installments as a multiyear annuity payment, holding that the state did not have the right to retroactively tax their winnings after passing a new statute. Plaintiffs Melvin Milligan and Kim Lawton-Milligan, who won the Big Game Lottery jackpot drawing in 2000, opted for 26 annual payouts of $1.77 million. They argued that the 2009 sta
Oct 14, 2016, 9:33 am - Lottery News