Man files 27 lawsuits over alleged lost lottery ticket

Dec 7, 2010, 9:04 am (40 comments)

New Jersey Lottery

Finders keepers, losers weepers? Not in Isaac Mendez's book.

Seven years ago, the former Jersey City resident lost a lawsuit in which he claimed to be the original purchaser of a $4 million New Jersey lottery ticket. But that court defeat hasn't stopped Mendez from pursuing the millions he claims is rightfully his.

On Sept. 16, 2002, a New Jersey Pick 6 lottery ticket was sold from the Sunshine Grocery store in Hoboken.

Mendez, who lived in Jersey City at the time, claimed he bought the ticket, but then lost it aboard a bus on Washington Street.

By the time he contacted the state Lottery Commission, the ticket had already been claimed by Maribel and Reynaldo Torres, a brother and sister from Union City.

Mendez filed a lawsuit in 2003 in Hudson County Superior Court against the Lottery Commission and the Union City siblings.

Satisfied that the Torreses purchased the ticket, a jury decided unanimously that the lump sum payout — $1.4 million after taxes — was rightfully theirs.

"It devastated me that someone could actually do that to me," Mendez, who survives on disability payments, said in a recent interview. "They stole a lot of money from me, they stole alot of years from my life."

In 2004, Mendez, a once aspiring doctor who now lives in Fairview, filed an unsuccessful court appeal.

Then in November last year, he filed a tort claim for $300 million against 27 defendants, including the Attorney General's Office, the state Lottery Commission, the state Department of Treasury, the state Department of Archives and Records Management and the Torres siblings, alleging obstruction of justice, fraud, negligence and perjury.

The complaint was filed in Mercer County Superior Court where Judge Paul Innes dismissed the cases against all but five of the defendants — the four state agencies and a former attorney for Mendez — on grounds that Mendez did not serve them personally. Mendez plans to file a motion to reinstate the lawsuit against the other 22 defendants.

Deputy Attorney General Marc Krefetz, who is representing the four state agencies, did not return phone calls to comment.

At her Union City home on Thursday, Maribel Torres said she was aware Mendez had filed a new lawsuit and that she and her brother Reynaldo were named in it, but she hadn't taken any action on the recommendation of her lawyer, Louis Balk.

"Obviously if anything is done, I'll be there for them," Balk said, adding that he too is a defendant in the complaint.

Mendez also filed an appeal in Mercer County's Appellate Division because he says state officials have "evaded the court rules" requiring them to file an answer to his November 2009 complaint within 35 days.

"If for some reason I'm stonewalled here in state court, I would proceed further because I'm not turning back at this point," Mendez said. "I'm confident that if I persevere that justice will prevail."

If he wins, Mendez said he'll relocate overseas. "I would love to move to Denmark because they say it's the happiest place in the world."

News story photo(Click to display full-size in gallery)

The Jersey Journal

Comments

sully16's avatarsully16

if he loses, doesn't he pay all the fees? I wonder if he has mental issues.

cope's avatarcope

looking at his haircut, i would say "yes".

GiveFive's avatarGiveFive

I'm curious to know as to how it was proven in the initial lawsuit that the Torreses had purchased the ticket.

B$Rizzle's avatarB$Rizzle

wow, that guy is ......interesting

dpoly1's avatardpoly1

I have never filed a lawsuit ..........

am I the only person that hasn't ................. why just the other day the people at Powerball picked the wrong numbers ......................

anyone know a good (rotten) lawyer!

Stooges ← Congress saving us from School Bake Sales!

sully16's avatarsully16

we need more info on this story, years ago I remember a similar case where a woman claimed a winning ticket was hers, found out later she was a big liar.

his lawyer should be fired for letting him show up anywhere looking like that..clean him up.

sully16's avatarsully16

Quote: Originally posted by dpoly1 on Dec 7, 2010

I have never filed a lawsuit ..........

am I the only person that hasn't ................. why just the other day the people at Powerball picked the wrong numbers ......................

anyone know a good (rotten) lawyer!

Stooges ← Congress saving us from School Bake Sales!

good one, I wonder when they go after the girlscouts and their cookies.

Raven62's avatarRaven62

How many Lottery Players were on that Jury? Thud

Raven62's avatarRaven62

Quote: Originally posted by sully16 on Dec 7, 2010

if he loses, doesn't he pay all the fees? I wonder if he has mental issues.

Isn't their a Statute of Limitations on filing these kind of charges?

Stack47

Quote: Originally posted by GiveFive on Dec 7, 2010

I'm curious to know as to how it was proven in the initial lawsuit that the Torreses had purchased the ticket.

Millions of online game and scratch-off tickets are cashed everyday without showing any proof of purchase. Since Mendez claimed he bought the ticket and it was stolen by the Torreses, he had to convince the jury he bought the ticket and failed. At best most players could only prove they bought a ticket if the clerk remembered them but not very many clerks are going to remember the numbers on the tickets. The best proof of purchase would be surveillance camera show the time the ticket was bought and matching it with the time on the ticket.

Raven62's avatarRaven62

Quote: Originally posted by GiveFive on Dec 7, 2010

I'm curious to know as to how it was proven in the initial lawsuit that the Torreses had purchased the ticket.

Good Question!

This Story is a Good Example of What Happens if You Loose Your Lottery Ticket and it Turns Out to be a Winner!

However: If you find a large sum of money (Winning Lottery Ticket) are you required by law to turn it in?

Unfortunately, what I found is that not reporting it, and spending it, is considered theft.

Money on the street (Lottery Ticket on a Bus) is "lost property", meaning it is still their property even though they've lost it.

You can turn it into the police and file a report, and in most places, if no one claims it then it's yours. However, some places have a policy of giving it to the local government if no owner could be found.

Life isn't fair. Usually, only the poor and middle-class working shlubs are the ones following the rules and staying poor/in debt/slaves to their unstable american jobs -- the rich seem to have less of a conscience about breaking the law (shady business deals, good old boy networks, government sleaze, and evading taxes by any means necessary). Maybe that's why they are rich.

NYSlugger 777's avatarNYSlugger 777

Lottery tickets are bearer instruments and the State lottery is not responsible for lost tickets.

savagegoose's avatarsavagegoose

i was lead to believe that every purchase is videod and the have footage of the purchaser of very winning ticket purchase.

 

well thats the feeling i get from those " gotcha " tv shows.

dpoly1's avatardpoly1

Quote: Originally posted by sully16 on Dec 7, 2010

good one, I wonder when they go after the girlscouts and their cookies.

Oh great !

Now you have given them another idea!

This clock comes to mind when I think about crazy lawsuits and politicians !

 hint: it goes "Ding, Cuckoo"

RJOh's avatarRJOh

Satisfied that the Torreses purchased the ticket, a jury decided unanimously that the lump sum payout — $1.4 million after taxes — was rightfully theirs.

Seems like Mendez had his chance to prove the Torreses didn't purchased the ticket and lost, that should have been the end of it.  A similar case happened in Cleveland a few years back with a winning MegaMillions ticket, only the lady said she bought the ticket from a store that didn't sell the winning ticket.  She even got the local police involved and almost went to jail for lying.  I think she really believed her story.

maringoman's avatarmaringoman

He looks like he is determined to get "his money" back.

I think he's just wasting everybody's time.

Abdi's avatarAbdi

sorry to mendez, I understand that it is hard to live with such kind of experiment.

my advice to him;carry on life goes on!,no matter how.

GiveFive's avatarGiveFive

Quote: Originally posted by NYSlugger 777 on Dec 7, 2010

Lottery tickets are bearer instruments and the State lottery is not responsible for lost tickets.

I'd agree with NYSlugger.... a ticket is a bearer instrument and it says just that on the back of the ticket.

The onus is on the person who lost the ticket to prove it was initially theirs.  He may very well have lost the tticket on the bus, and they may have found it and presented it.  But if he can not prove he initially owned it, he's toast.

PERDUE

There are many stories here on Lottery Post for us to read about claims of stolen tickets.

I see no answers to the obvious questions that come to mind.

In the first trial was the video footage shown revealing the purchaser of the ticket?

Remember in the story of where the idiot ran his ticket through the printer and the printer messed up the ticket?

Remember how the story told how the state was able to trace the origin of the ticket down to the roll of paper?

And we all remember Mr. Willis Willis, the schmuck who had his ticket stolen here in TX.

Well as far as this story goes, the details are too vague.

I say throw some more meat into this stew because the fixins in this story are mighty scarce.

BUCKNASTY4

YEP!!!!

Set4life's avatarSet4life

His hair is funny lol, maybe he can get a wig after his 'win'

michimac

my goo'ness.....the j-pot was 4 Mill & they only actually got 1.4 mil of it ??

They (taxes) just rape 'ya at both ends don't they?

Plus- if you wanna move OUT of the USA I think they (gov) tax you for that &  take even more of it from you -don't they ?

 

anywhere would be a happy place if ya had money like that !

Stack47

Quote: Originally posted by RJOh on Dec 7, 2010

Satisfied that the Torreses purchased the ticket, a jury decided unanimously that the lump sum payout — $1.4 million after taxes — was rightfully theirs.

Seems like Mendez had his chance to prove the Torreses didn't purchased the ticket and lost, that should have been the end of it.  A similar case happened in Cleveland a few years back with a winning MegaMillions ticket, only the lady said she bought the ticket from a store that didn't sell the winning ticket.  She even got the local police involved and almost went to jail for lying.  I think she really believed her story.

Mendez probably bought a lottery ticket at the same store on the same day and lost it on the bus. He had to prove the Torreses found his ticket and cashed it and couldn't. My guess he didn't know what the numbers were on the ticket and just assumed the Torreses found it and it was the winning ticket.

I remember the story about the deranged woman in Cleveland who claimed someone stole her $100 million MM ticket. They always mentioned the name of the store where the large jackpot winning ticket was sold during the nightly drawings and many people have claimed they lost their tickets when the tickets go unclaimed for a few days. That was rather common when Super Lotto had multiple jackpot winners. I believe there was a lawsuit involving two jackpot winners when a third winning ticket went unclaimed.

thegrrrr8est

Or, gee, here's a thought. Maybe the rich are rich because they took their education seriously.  Maybe they're rich because they worked their tails off to get where they are. Maybe they're rich because they had the guts and determination to start their own business, even knowing the odds of succeeding were slim. Maybe they're rich because they don't play the victim card.  Life is what you make it. We all wind up EXACTLY where our intelligence and efforts put us.  Life is absolutely fair.  It gives back exactly what you put into it.

tg636

It looks like he believes his story. Most crazy people are very sure of themselves. Of course even if he lost A ticket I don't see how knows it was THE ticket. I would have to read more to see what the evidence in the original court case was.  It was probably "Nyahh nyahh, prove we didn't buy it Mr. Crazy! Ha!"

The moral of the story: Make sure your lottery ticket is safely tucked away when you change the tinfoil on your hat on the bus.

For more analysis of this vexing case...

http://nyc.barstoolsports.com/random-thoughts/jersey-city-pedophile-loses-his-4-million-lotto-ticket-sues-the-whole-world/

CarHauler

He kind of reminds me of someone I don't like. He shares something in common with WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange: they both could be fixed very easily. And the cost? Less than one US dollar, for both of them. Seven point six millimeter full metal jacket.

But seriously, If I were him, I would remember to sign every ticket as soon as I bought it, considering his alleged bad luck. I would also be very careful to legibly print my name, address and phone number on every ticket which I purchased, immediately upon acquiring it.

LANTERN's avatarLANTERN

Well, if the ticket was lost and not stolen, then it must belong to whoever finds it, unless there is a law saying that it still belongs to whoever bought it and then it must be proven that such person bought it.

If it can't be proven, then whoever holds the ticket owns it, even if that person found it, not because somebody found a ticket it must belong to whoever says that he or she lost it, it must be proven so or it should be proven so.

As to this particular case, as not all the details are shown here, I can't say who I think that it must belong to and even if they were shown, Who can really be sure? Just leave it to the law, jury and judge to say.

It does seem to me, that as the ticket was not stolen, even if it was lost, if it really was and it might not have been, then it belongs to the Torreses (Brother and sister), that is my own judgement, the Torreses didn't steal the ticket nor did they steal any years as it was claimed, they are the ones that should sue.

To me this is a grey area, if you lose a son, it is still yours no matter who finds him, if a truck or wagon that carries money for a bank loses some or all the money, that money still belongs to the bank, no matter who or how it was found and how it was lost.

The same thing goes for a lost car, but if you lose your pen or a dollar, I say that it belongs to whoever finds it, if you lose your dog, it is still your dog.

No matter what, just leave it up to the law, jury and judge, they will say what is what and how.

konane's avatarkonane

What part of Mendes being responsible for his own personal failure to secure the ticket from becoming lost ..... does Mendes not understand? 

Seems Mendes is attempting to turn back the hands of time, rewrite history in his favor. Good luck with that one.

Hermanus104's avatarHermanus104

Did he sign the back of the ticket when he bought it? If he did not, then it will be hard for him to prove his case.

louise black

Quote: Originally posted by Raven62 on Dec 7, 2010

Good Question!

This Story is a Good Example of What Happens if You Loose Your Lottery Ticket and it Turns Out to be a Winner!

However: If you find a large sum of money (Winning Lottery Ticket) are you required by law to turn it in?

Unfortunately, what I found is that not reporting it, and spending it, is considered theft.

Money on the street (Lottery Ticket on a Bus) is "lost property", meaning it is still their property even though they've lost it.

You can turn it into the police and file a report, and in most places, if no one claims it then it's yours. However, some places have a policy of giving it to the local government if no owner could be found.

Life isn't fair. Usually, only the poor and middle-class working shlubs are the ones following the rules and staying poor/in debt/slaves to their unstable american jobs -- the rich seem to have less of a conscience about breaking the law (shady business deals, good old boy networks, government sleaze, and evading taxes by any means necessary). Maybe that's why they are rich.

With that statement you as close toBig Grin Angel Mother Teresa as any one could be.Now on that note never mind how he looks ,I am incline to believe him. He standing on principle even if it 's the rest of his life. If only he played these numbers everyday and had his tickets to show.Fight on for your justicePatriot

sully16's avatarsully16

Quote: Originally posted by dpoly1 on Dec 7, 2010

Oh great !

Now you have given them another idea!

This clock comes to mind when I think about crazy lawsuits and politicians !

 hint: it goes "Ding, Cuckoo"

oops...my bad.   ding-cuckoo sums them up for sure.

RJOh's avatarRJOh

Sounds like Isaac Mendez had a good chance to present his case back in 2003.  Unless he present some different evidence this time he can expect he same results again.

https://www.lotterypost.com/news/75672/143056

konane's avatarkonane

Quote: Originally posted by RJOh on Dec 8, 2010

Sounds like Isaac Mendez had a good chance to present his case back in 2003.  Unless he present some different evidence this time he can expect he same results again.

https://www.lotterypost.com/news/75672/143056

Nothing was said whether Mendez appealed the original verdict.  Also the article you linked to said the winning ticket was a quick pick.

rooster8786

Somebody should tell this illegal immigrant and his attorney that a lottery ticker is a bearer instrument.  If not signed by the purchaser, it belongs to whomever turns it in to the lottery office.

Stack47

Quote: Originally posted by rooster8786 on Dec 8, 2010

Somebody should tell this illegal immigrant and his attorney that a lottery ticker is a bearer instrument.  If not signed by the purchaser, it belongs to whomever turns it in to the lottery office.

Had Mendez proved the ticket he lost was the same ticket the Torreses turned in, he would have had a case. Had there been film of him buying a QP at the same time the winning ticket was purchased. The best evidence would be losing tickets with the same numbers played in past drawings.

Apparently Mendez failed to prove either.

RJOh's avatarRJOh

Quote: Originally posted by rooster8786 on Dec 8, 2010

Somebody should tell this illegal immigrant and his attorney that a lottery ticker is a bearer instrument.  If not signed by the purchaser, it belongs to whomever turns it in to the lottery office.

As the  judge said in this article: https://www.lotterypost.com/news/75672/143056
"it is not 'finder's keepers, losers weepers,' as we learn in the schoolyard. If Mr. Mendez bought the ticket, he has a claim to it."

The fact was Mr. Mendez testified he only remembered buying the ticket a week later, when the winning numbers and the store at which the lucky ticket was bought were published in the local newspaper and even though the ticket was an auto pick the first two digits 7 and 11 had stuck in his mind because it was the numerical rendering of the date of his mother's wedding anniversary: July 11.  Mr. Mendez story failed to prove to the judge that the Torres found a ticket he bought and lost.

One has to ask even if he lost a $4M lottery ticket, why does he now sue for $300M?

tnhope's avatartnhope

Quote: Originally posted by savagegoose on Dec 7, 2010

i was lead to believe that every purchase is videod and the have footage of the purchaser of very winning ticket purchase.

 

well thats the feeling i get from those " gotcha " tv shows.

i wonder this too.....hmmmm...need more info on this story

flat creek*kid

Quote: Originally posted by sully16 on Dec 7, 2010

we need more info on this story, years ago I remember a similar case where a woman claimed a winning ticket was hers, found out later she was a big liar.

his lawyer should be fired for letting him show up anywhere looking like that..clean him up.

LMAO  ROFL

RJOh's avatarRJOh

Claims of losing the winning ticket is a common scam of people trying to claim a lottery jackpot that they did not win as was the case in the October Euromillions jackpot of £113m.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1321830/Euromillions-pensioner-claims-won-lottery-jackpot-husband-binned-ticket.html

Lotteries all over the world deal with hundreds of such claims every year.  The real winner later came forward with the actual winning ticket.

snoopie100

This guy looks like a nut jobb. In california on the back of your ticket it says "sign it" to ensure ownership. smh .. He f'd up. not the torres.

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