Still hasn't given up fight for $5.8 million
It all started with a lottery ticket.
For Clarence Jackson, life over the past 15 years has been a roller-coaster ride of highs and lows that began with a once-in-a-lifetime ticket that would have made him a multimillionaire.
Jackson was the guy who held the winning ticket for $5.8 million and tried unsuccessfully to cash it after he missed the one-year deadline by three days.
This year marks the 15th anniversary of a memorable debate in the state House of Representatives in May 1997 when lawmakers battled over the rallying cry of "give the kid the money." After lottery officials refused to bend the rules, the House voted that year — and two times after that — to retroactively change the deadline and give the kid the money. But the state Senate never approved the bill and Jackson never got a dime.
That guy will turn 40 later this year, and he is thinking about running for the state legislature — the body that snuffed out his dream.
The winning ticket that turned into a loser has brought many twists and turns to his life, and the devoutly religious Jackson views it as a blessing. While he never became a millionaire, he did become a mini-celebrity in Connecticut for a plight that has been told in People magazine and The New York Times.
He has met politicians of all political stripes and has become their friends. Republicans, Democrats; it doesn't matter.
He attended the Democratic National Convention in 2008 and watched candidate Barack Obama's famous speech outdoors at a football stadium in Denver. After a friend helped him by providing frequent flier miles to Colorado, Jackson received a convention ticket through the Democratic Party. A nostalgic keeper of souvenirs, Jackson proudly displays his tickets that he has saved from the events.
"I was there [at the convention]," he said. "I was at the Inaugural Ball."
"This is all from a lottery ticket. ... Meeting President Obama. Meeting President Clinton when he came to campaign for Joe Lieberman [in 2006] at the Palace Theater in Waterbury. I shook his hand and talked to him."
Meeting Mitt
When the state's top Republicans last week threw a fundraiser for presidential candidate Mitt Romney at an upscale Stamford hotel, even some party stalwarts could not afford the top price of $2,500 per person. Despite requests for coverage, reporters were barred from the event. But who got a free ticket? Clarence Jackson.
It turns out that Jackson's lottery plight had caught the attention of Jay Malcynsky, a prominent Capitol lobbyist who is running the Romney campaign in Connecticut.
"The GOP loves me — a poor, minority guy," Jackson said in an interview. "All of the GOP has supported me, but they are supposed to be the party of rich, white people."
Jackson shook Romney's hand and said hello at an event packed by hedge-fund kingpins and wealthy Fairfield County residents.
Jackson had another big reason why he wanted to meet Romney: They are both Mormon.
Jackson attributes his 2005 conversion to Mormonism for helping him persevere through the ups and downs of life.
"That's the greatest thing that ever happened in my life," Jackson said. "I would not be a devout Mormon" without the lottery experience.
Jackson turned to Mormonism after a series of unfortunate events. He was very depressed over the death of his father, the continued defeats at the Capitol regarding his lottery ticket, and the illness of his mother, who has since died.
Jackson mentions in passing that his final conversation with his mother focused on the lottery ticket. When asked about it, Jackson said he was present in June 2007 when his mother choked to death while eating. As he recalled the unusual story, Jackson pulled out a laminated copy of his mother's death certificate that shows it was caused by asphyxia from choking on food.
In a large, black bag that he carries at the Capitol, Jackson keeps materials that document his case. Those include a bound booklet that he compiled with a series of articles about other lottery winners who succeeded in bending the rules in states like New York and Maryland.
Jackson has reappeared at the Capitol near the end of the session year after year for the past 15 years in the hopes of keeping his quest for those lost lottery winnings alive. Some legislators clearly avoid him — having heard his story and still voting against him. But more often than not, the affable Jackson strikes up a conversation, even if it has nothing to do with the lottery.
Often dressed in a suit and tie, Jackson fits in with the Capitol culture and is on a first-name basis with many legislators. Sometimes the conversations are brief as both current and former legislators simply say hello.
Making Peace
As a religious man, Jackson believes in forgiveness. That allowed him to forgive the main person who blocked him from winning the lottery prize and becoming an instant millionaire.
After the House passed the lottery bill in 1997, just one person stymied the bill in the Senate: Sen. Alvin Penn, the powerful co-chairman of the legislative committee, which oversees the lottery. Penn told reporters that he did not want to be seen as providing special treatment for Jackson, a fellow African American.
When Penn was dying of pancreatic cancer at the age of 54 in 2003, Jackson got in his car and drove to the Branford hospice where Penn was staying along Long Island Sound. Just three days before Penn died, Jackson said, he arrived to make peace. As Penn was in his final days, they did not have a conversation, but Jackson said he spoke with Penn's family members. He said he learned later that Penn was glad he stopped by.
While his dream was blocked largely by a Democrat, Jackson has friends on both sides of the aisle. They have included former Republican state Chairman Chris DePino, former Democratic House Speaker James Amann and former Rep. Reggie Beamon, a Waterbury Democrat who sponsored amendments on Jackson's behalf.
Along the way in his lottery journey, Jackson has received encouragement from countless politicians at the local, state, and national level. On a chance encounter at a football game, he said, he saw and then approached the New York State governor who had signed a similar bill to give another chance to a hard-luck, $7.6 million lottery winner from Long Island named Howard Reid.
"I talked to George Pataki at a Yale-Harvard game, and he knew who I was," Jackson said. Pataki is a Yale graduate. "Even he said, 'Don't give up.' ... It was just totally random, and I came up to introduce myself. I asked him why he signed the bill for the taxi driver who threw the ticket out in the trash."
When he thinks about what would have happened if he had actually won more than $5 million at the age of 24, Jackson now says that he would not have handled it well.
"I'd be dead or broke because I was young," Jackson said during an interview at the Capitol complex cafeteria. "I wouldn't be sitting here."
Crossing Over?
With all this exposure to politicians, Jackson says he wants to run for the state legislature from his hometown of Hamden. The incumbent, Rep.Peter F. Villano, is 88 years old and has served in Hartford for 20 years. Jackson says that both parties have approached him to run. While he considers himself to be independent and bipartisan, Jackson has been registered three different ways through the years: Republican, Democrat and unaffiliated at different times. Today, he is registered as a Democrat.
But the state House Republican leader, Larry Cafero, is pushing hard for Jackson to make the next step as a Republican.
"I have been encouraging him and offering him advice and guidance," Cafero said, adding that he was unaware that Villano is 88. "I think he would be great for our party. We haven't talked about the old Lotto in a while. ... We're interested in restoring balance to government. This has become a one-party government. Clarence is very bright and very articulate. I think he'd make a great public officeholder. I'm still trying to convince him to run. I'll keep pushing."
Jackson said he is interested in running but he does not know exactly what his next step will be. He earns a living by taking care of three mentally disabled individuals under a state license.
He has not given up on trying to cash in the ticket that was purchased in 1995, discovered as a winner in 1996, and then debated starting in 1997.
"I don't know what God has in store for me," said Jackson, who is single and has never been married. "It's sad that 17 years later, I'm still up here. If it wasn't for the lottery ticket, I would not be up here now. ... I would like to [run for office]. I would have to choose a party, and that's a hard thing to do."
With all his experiences, Jackson said, he wants to tell his story to a wider public.
"I'm going to write a book or do a film," Jackson said. "But I don't have the happy ending yet. I don't know what the happy ending will be."
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Good luck to Clarence in the political arena!
Sad about his lose of that lottery, but he was 3 days beyond the deadline. If the lottery commission made this exception, this would set a precedent
for all future scenarios where anyone could still win the lottery if they were 1,2,3 or more days beyond the deadline. Those are the rules, and they
should apply to everybody or nobody. Still sucks. I can put myself in his shoes.
Wishing you all the best Mr. Jackson ......
I certainly feel bad for the guy, but rules are rules. A year is a long time. I don't think they should bend the rules, because what good are the rules if they just disregard them whenever they want.
I don't think that the lottery was very high on this guys list of things or he would have checked his ticket sooner.
The mornings after lottery draws, I purposely don't listen to the radio on the way to work so I don't hear if someone in the area won. I want to find out on my own.
I understand the rules are rules argument but this guy sounds like he got a little screwed. Do a google search on Clarence Jackson Lottery and there will be a story explaining his situation.
Here is an excerpt:
"The only trouble was that it was now 11:15 on Sunday night, just 45 minutes before the deadline. All Clarence had to do was go to any store that sold Lotto tickets to have it validated, but he didn't know that. "Whenever the winners are on TV they're always at the lottery office smiling with a big check," he says. "I'm thinking, 'That's where I have to go.'
The next day, Columbus Day, the lottery office was closed. The day after that, Jackson woke up and read in the papers that the ticket was worthless."
So what did he think the other 364 days? That the office was closed? Sorry, no sympathy here. When you buy the ticket, you agree to the rules of the game. I only get 180 days. Yet I can follow the deadline.
I have some well aged cheese to go with that well aged "WHINE".
I agree!
I think it's how you look at it. Those that support his cause are looking at THREE DAYS.
Those that sit on the other end of the spectrum hold the view that he had a WHOLE YEAR to cash it in.
If you're playing to win, you need to be more responsible with your tickets and having them processed in a timely fashion. He himself concedes that he would have been DEAD or BROKE by now had he been successful in his plight.
The story explains more of his situation. If you're intersted I suggest giving it a read. Not everything is always so black and white and I know if I, or anyone else for that matter, had a similar situation I certainly would feel slighted. Plus it's the goverment, they change rules all the time when it suites them. I'd rather see this guy get his cash than it going back into their coffers.
He had plenty of time to cash in the ticket ............. it is well past the time to move on
If sounds like you would just as well get rid of the deadline altogether. Just like being pulled over for a traffic violation, everyone has an excuse
and a book full of reasons, why they shouldn't be ticketed. But officer, I was only going over the speed limit by 10 miles an hour.
I had a FULL YEAR to cash in my ticket, and I was only 3 days OVER that deadline. Please give me my money!!!
Doesn't matter if your Donald Trump, a little old lady, or Jesus Christ himself (if he would play?), NO EXCEPTIONS for anybody.
You snooze,you lose.End of story.
If they let the taxi driver who threw away his ticket in the trash have his money why not this guy? Why pick and choose to make exceptions for some and not others? Seems unfair to me. You guys are a tough crowd lol. Put youselves in that guys shoes. How would you feel when you see the rules bent for others and you get passed over?
I was the first poster on this thread, and if you read you will see that I did put myself in his shoes, and felt bad for him.
Having said that, I will not detract from my stand on this rule. This is a fair yet firm rule that must be enforced consistently. If this were
me in that situation, I would have no one to blame but myself. I would not expect any special consideration, and certainly no
monetary compensation for my inability to get to that lottery office in a timely fashion.
I don't know anything about any taxi driver so can't speak to that.
But if I was in this guys shoes,I would have checked my ticket LONG before it was due to expire and cashed it in.I wouldn't have waited until the last minute.I'll say it again,loud enough so you can hear it this time:YOU SNOOZE,YOU LOSE!
Play to win and prepare for it. I always chuckle to myself when I hear people needing to take time to consult with financial experts and attorneys. I have done all of that crap already and I have my masterplan. Grant it, it may be tweaked here and there but I will be in the lottery headquarters the next business day!
I won't have to worry about who did what for whom in what circumstance. I don't play in pools or in stores with no cameras or store my tickets unsigned or blab my mouth to the world. I have it all covered. Lol!
Congratulations! It sure sounds like you do have all the bases covered.
I have only one question. What's your plan if you never win? Dont get me wrong, everybody should have a postive attitude about winning. I'm just sayin there aint any guarantee your gonna win.
You have to be creative under these circumstances. 15 years?? Time's a-wasting.
`
I have three college degrees and a thriving career making a very good income and I invest carefully. Winning the lottery would be a wonderful plus and would merely accelerate my retirement schedule and cetrtaily the level at which I can splurge in my twilight years - lol.
I will not be in the headquarters the next business day. I plan to be in on the first business day when they can actually pay the money. It is my understanding that it takes at least 2 weeks for the funds to be collected, and maybe as long as a month. (This applies to PowerBall and MegaMillions.) I will confirm that with lottery officials when I win. I will use that time to wrap things up at work and when they are ready to pay, I will go in with all the information they need to confirm the win and plan to disappear for a while.
Sounds like a good plan to me.
Quick trip to Talahassee won't hurt me none. Besides I will lose a whole day of that money being in my swiss bank account if I go at the 2 week mark. Further to that, they give you a million for a Vegas Vacation while you wait on the lump sum.
At least we're both smart enough to protect our tickets and cash them in within a reasonable period of time. The rest of it boils down to semantics.
"Play to win and prepare for it. I always chuckle to myself when I hear people needing to take time to consult with financial experts and attorneys."
Any lottery ticket is a worthless piece of paper before it's validated. Granted there are circumstances where it might be wise to consult a lawyer before going to lottery headquarters, but with no extraordinary problems the average player could consult a lawyer and have their ticket validated on the next day the lottery headquarters was open.
Other than making the decision between cash payment and the annuity, which the lotteries give the winner extra time to choose, talking to a financial planner can wait until after the ticket is validated. By Federal law the lotteries must withhold 25% for taxes so the only help a tax consultants or a CPA could give is direction to the lottery headquarters.
For those wanting to form a trust, it might take a couple of weeks, but there is no indication in this story that Clarence Jackson was. There are lots of people with intricate plans for cashing their ticket and spending the winnings, but other than buying one QP, have no plan of how to win a jackpot.
Wait. What? Million dollars for Vegas? Who gives that?
No sympathy from me too. Clarence Jackson you are a moron.
To me, "almost-millionaire" means having $999,000
, not a piece of paper past its expiry date. 
Or is he planning on getting millions by getting elected, like the others?
With millions playing and only a few ever winning ,any person old enough to play the lotteries knows better than to have as their plan "A"(winning a lottery), but there's nothing wrong with having a plan and thinking about it in case you get lucky.
Who gives you a million for a vegas vacation? I have been playing the wrong lottery games! Have I missed something within the rules?
and as far as not knowing the laws and rules... isnt ignorance of the law no defence as a legal defence?
[I]snt ignorance of the law no defence as a legal defence?
Yeah, but that won't stop them from taking your dollar.
Might be he's referring to a million the lottery spots you until your big direct deposit gets to you 2 Weeks or so later?
Ding Ding Ding!
Do I get a PRIZE!!!???
I thought I would confer with my six psychics on retainer to give you a free reading as your prize.
Here we go: Buy $2 QP from the service station east of where you regulary buy your gas. Carry those numbers as they will bring you good luck very soon!
I also have no sympathy for him, I checked the story on why he couldn't cash his ticket on time, yes he had rough circumstances and people relying on him, but it would have taken two minutes to check the numbers either online or his next visit to the store (everybody's got to eat right, you don't forget to eat and take time out of the day for that, why not for lotto also???also here in texas you only have 180 days to cash your tickets-would the people saying give him a break, say that in mine if I were 6 months late, once the rules are bent then everyone wants the rules bent for them.....my personal thought however is that there should be no deadline....also why is this still news?
Thanks rad! I know the station you mean (Uncanny how this psychic could know this???), picked up my $2 in QP for 2-nites MM!
YEEEEHAAAAAA!!!....I love winning free prizes.
You hit upon a good point that I found very interesting. Why is there a deadline in the first place? I agree with you that there should not be a deadline, or if the states wanted to impose some sort of penalty let it expire over the period of time the annuity would have been paid out.
So say if the jackpot would be paid as an annuity over 26 years like in New York then let that be the penalty, for each year that the ticket is not claimed you lose that years payments. So my time period would be the annuity payout period. I think that is fair, what do you guys think?
-Michael
fair idea to lose your annuity for as long as you don't claim your prize. this guy who won't get elected dog catcher is trying to get onto the political gravy train to recover some of his prize. who's kidding who? becoming a political hack is the easiest way to get cash.
Life is not fair, deal with it young man.
Good Luck!!!
I like that idea.
Excellent, a win win for both the lottery's credibility and the players!
Anyone living a life without deadlines is living a life of chaos. If 6 months up to a year isn't enough time to validate a ticket, then no amount of time is imop.
How very true. Life is finite. Our time here is short. Without "deadlines" we might just wind up "dead" before achieving any of our goals.
WONDERFUL idea, probably why the lotteries will not implement it. :( The reason probably claimed will be that different states have different claiming periods, then again, they (the states) could just adopt one period of claiming for the multi-state games - which makes much more sense to me.
Mr. Jackson>>>>>>>>>>R>>>>>>>>>U>>>>>>>>>>>?????????????????????????????????????????
You get nothing! You waited a year and three days to come forward for your winning lottery ticket. You have horrible timing. You do not deserve any money because you sir have an expired ticket. Move on and stop crying about spilt milk. You are doing good for yourself so get over the fact that you can't tell time and move on with your life. So we don't have to read stories about non-winners like you.-weshar75
Agreed.
365 days to turn in a $5M ticket and still three days late?
He's coming across as someone who doesn't want the rules to apply to him.
He had a year to claim. He missed the deadline...too bad. If you make an exception, it's not a rule.
my personal thought however is that there should be no deadline....
Do you actually expect politicians to leave millions of dollars sitting there looking at them for some indefinite amout of time and not be spent? Better get it while the getting is good.
also why is this still news?
It isn't. It's about revenue. You introduce a name to the public today, and possibly build that into a political career, or a reality [product placement] show appearance (or three), and you make future tabloid magazine and TV ad sales.
Just think of all the "famous" people that you can't- quite- remember- why- they're- famous.
I don't know, this is kind of BS. I think with only 3 days past the deadline they should have given him his money. At the worst maybe even half of it.
And the next guy?
And the next guy?
Or just the guys we like or feel sorry for?
How many people have missed such a deadline? Must be less than 5... worldwide... in the history of jackpots. So when we talk of bending the rules for EVERYONE, keep in mind we are taliking of just a handful of folks who got lucky.
Give the guy the loot and NO to deadlines.
I'm sure there's a reason as to why these kinds of deadlines are necessary. A lottery ticket isn't something you can just look at months later on your own freetime. Otherwise you're not serious about playing the game.
My sentiments EXACTLY!
In fairness perhaps Clarence had no access to a phone, TV, Internet, newspaper, clock, watch or word of mouth from neighbors and friends?
In fairness,he's still S.O.L.
He bought the ticket and didn't cash it in in time,whats so freaking hard to understand about that?
+1 Why is this news? He's keeping this alive to help himself tring to get in office.
That was a satirical joke,
not meant to be taken at all serious Cletu$. Do you even have any sense of humor remaining in that clouded
area of your enraged head? Try taking in a few late night sitcoms occasionally.....maybe you'll begin to understand that life is far to short
to be so cynically serious and pissed off all the time. Not good for your health either.
Now do me a favor...and start laughing.
Or at least try cracking a smile my friend. 
When most people are making a satirical remark on the internet they put a ~;) or someting else behind their comment so that people will know that they are not serious.
And I'm not your friend.
I do smile quite a bit,but the crap you put out is nothing to smile about.
Still missing some of the pieces of the puzzle to this story.....Where was this ticket and why wasn't it checked for a year ? Where was Mr Jackson and what was he doing as to not checking the ticket ??? Was he medically ill, out of the country, incarcerated ?.....Whatever the reason, his story should be a reminder to all that play.....CHECK YOUR TICKETS WITHIN 24 OF A DRAWING, YOU MIGHT BE A WINNER.
Oh I see now Cletu$, You cannot "spot" a little humor when you see it. You need to have some heads up, or visual aids to understand such concepts.
No problem. In future postings where humor is likely to appear, I will go out of my way (Just for you), to let it be known that "The Following Material
Will Be Considered Comical Or Satirical In Nature"
The "friend" term was just a respectful professional courtesy in referring to another LP'er.
I'm happy to hear that you "smile" so much. It certainly comes across well in all your postings.
"Crap" is all relative my friend, some crap is well received, other "Crap" is quickly forgotten about, much like most of your postings.
I'd be in that lottery office next business day. I guess like with all area's in life, there are those % that are not mentally/emotionally equipped to
accept and follow through in a responsible manner. With all the warnings, disclaimers, expiration dates....it's still not enough for some folks.
MORAL: Lottery prize redemption is at your own risk. Not everyone is cut out to be a professional responsible lottery player.
As a child my folks use to say 'ding ding' whenever they made a 'thinly-veiled' attempt at humor. I got really sick of hearing 'ding ding'. :) Now in my dotage I realize that they were not ever funny and therefore had to say 'ding ding' to alert themselves and others of their feeble attempts. While my kids and g'kids think that they are hysterical. It must be a recessive trait that skipped my generation.
Coming from an Irish background, humor has always been a common thread in our lives. (Love Conan!!)
For any real humor to flourish, there absolutely needs to be an element of complete spontaneity. If someone is requiring a mechanical/visual
aid before being able to recognize or respond to this beautiful gems..... then what's the use???
@ Cletu$2,
Amen Brother!
Thank God (and Todd) for the Block Feature.
I get annoyed a lot less now.
rdgrnr,how do I block this insufferable moron?
Never mind,rdgrnr,I found it.
What I dont' understand and obviously missed something.. why did he wait so long to cash the ticket.. after all he had a year.. 365 days. If it were me.. short of seeking my lawyers advice I think I would have been on it ASAP!!!
LottoMomma
Only one possible answer...must have been a lib!
Conservatives and Moderates don't make error's in judgement. 
Like someone else said.. possibly incarcerated??? Only reason I can think of why he couldn't get to lottery office! Unless he was in a coma..and if either of those.. I would think would be "extenuating" circumstances.. you'd think the state would make an exception?
LottoMomma
The question LottoMomma, is how may exceptions do you allow? After the first green light, you then open a floodgate for any and all excuses.
Oh, I hear ya talking.. just a shame the guy snoozed for whatever reason and he is having diffculty with the fact "he dropped the ball".. and has to live with the reality. Just sad is all. I totally understand the state's position..the rule is the rule.. if you're going to play the game you agree to live by the rules.. and if you let one get their finger under the manhole cover... you and I both know what happens then!
Like they say... word to the wise.. CHECK THOSE TICKETS LIKE ASAP!
I know when I play I am on those results like 11:01! LOL I want to know if I won or lost....like today! LOL
Enjoyed sparring with you! LOL
LottoMomma
As I originally posted on this thread, I genuinely feel bad for this guy! If I were in his shoes I would feel like <snip>!
when you block someone, what happens ?
can you not see their posts?
can they not see your posts?
seems like it may make the thread harder to follow.
When you block a person they are prevented from sending you a PM.
They are denied making comments in your Blog.
Their posts are "hidden" in the threads, though you can open them individually if you choose.
It's a very handy way of dealing with someone you find unbearably annoying.
If you mash down on "Premium Memberships" above on the left, it explains it all.
OK thanks, i'll do that, maybe tommorow
Why is there a deadline to begin with?! it's kind of ridiculous..
I dont know his story why he did not cash... I am multiple lotto keno winner for syndicates over the past 25 years. I recently drove off to a remote farm and on my way happened to stop as my baby was crying i left the mum and marked some certain winning numbers of the New Zealand Keno, I knew th numbers, and later knew I won, but its 3 months now I cant find the ticket, I just dont know where it is, I got another 9 months to find it.. Its worth the keno top div. prize in NZ.
I had been always carefull, but I dont know why I cant find this ticket. I am forgetting actually, and when I read this I remember of it.
well i can for certain win any lotto keno certainly for a 50% investment of the prize moeny in about 5 years span of time.
"...I dont know why I cant find this ticket. I am forgetting actually..."
Look above the mantle over the fireplace. You hid it behind that huge portrait of Marty Feldman.
So that there's order instead of chaos; and less chance of fraud. Fraudsters have to work within the deadline instead of having all the time in the world to perfect their scam.
I feel sorry for this man, it must have hit his gut terribly to realize he was not only that close to millions, but that the solution was simple instead of difficult. That solution is not really advertised at all. HOWEVER, lottery winnings are found money, not earned money. I realize many here are going to react violently to that line of reasoning, because I've seen the number of people who talk about earning lottery money, or discussing winners as people who earned it.
No one earns found money, it's strictly luck. So, though I feel sorry for him, I pity him more that he was willing to waste 15 years of his life trying to make himself an exception to the rules, instead of finding much better uses for the money he's spent on lawyers. If he had saved up all of THAT money, how much more richer would he be today? When something like this happens, you shake yourself off and continuing living the best you can.
As for deadlines, I also don't know the story of the cab driver who threw his ticket away. I have heard several stories (and several lawsuits) about people who purchased winning tickets with printed dates after the deadline, who expect to be given the jackpot. They are told no, for the same reason this man is told no: if you miss the deadline, you miss it. You don't get to say, well it was purchased a couple seconds after the deadline. You don't get to say, I meant to claim the prize 6 months ago. You also don't get to say you missed it by 3 days.
This is not his money. He lost his claim. End of story.
lol
Okay, probably good efforts Clarence Jackson, but your obsession went nowhere.
Therefore, perhaps now is the time to choose some other business to spend your next 15 years of life in obsession with. Be sure to choose a pursuit that you can get excited (in a good way) about again!
Good question. Banks don't confiscate your balance if you don't withdraw it in a year, why should government?
Let 'em leave it sit and keep the interest until it's picked up.
If he was in prison that would been made public real fast if he's interested in getting in politics.
I think this guy needs to move on with his life. 15 years is too long.
According to the Connecticut Office of State Treasure, Unclaimed Property Division:
What is Unclaimed Property?
We may have something that belongs to you! In Connecticut, the Office of State Treasurer collects and safeguards money and other valuables which have been unclaimed by Connecticut residents for a specific period of time, generally three to five years. Unclaimed assets include, but are not limited to: savings or checking accounts, un-cashed checks, deposits, stocks, bonds or mutual fund shares, travelers' checks or money orders and life insurance policies. Rightful owners or their heirs always have the right to claim funds held by the Treasury. There is no time limit for you to claim this money.
In accordance with state law, the assets are transferred to the Treasurer by entities such as banks, insurance companies, stock transfer agents, utilities, hospitals, retail, manufacturing and service companies following a loss of contact with the owners of record. Specific forms and instructions are provided by the Unclaimed Property Division each year for businesses to file unclaimed property. Such assets must be reported and remitted within 90 days following the close of each calendar year. These assets are held in the custody of the Treasurer until claimants come forward or are located.
(search: unclaimed property connecticut)
"In Connecticut, the Office of State Treasurer collects and safeguards money and other valuables which have been unclaimed by Connecticut residents."
Certainly the amount of money in a lottery jackpot prize fund, or any annuity purchased with those funds, would be included under the description money and other valuables.
"In accordance with state law, the assets are transferred to the Treasurer by entities such as banks, insurance companies, . . . (etc.)"
Wouldn't the Connecticut State Lottery would be included among such entities?
"These assets are held in the custody of the Treasurer until claimants come forward or are located."
I haven't read that there was any dispute that Mr. Jackson did possess and came forward with the winning ticket.
In the above information there does seem to be some confusing statements here as to the time period to make a claim:
"In Connecticut, the Office of State Treasurer collects and safeguards money and other valuables which have been unclaimed by Connecticut residents for a specific period of time, generally three to five years."
Also:
"Rightful owners or their heirs always have the right to claim funds held by the Treasury. There is no time limit for you to claim this money."
And:
"These assets are held in the custody of the Treasurer until claimants come forward or are located."
If this, or similar policy was in effect fifteen years ago then Mr. Jackson should have been allowed to claim the money at that time.
"Rightful owners or their heirs always have the right to claim funds held by the Treasury. There is no time limit for you to claim this money."
If truly there is no time limit, then he should be allowed to claim the money even now.
On one hand the CT Lottery states a deadline for claiming lottery winnings. On the other, the state of Connecticut also has policies regarding unclaimed property. I would like to believe that Mr. Jackson and his lawyers were/are aware of these policies. If so it would be interesting to know the state's response and reasoning was if Mr. Jackson presented himself as the rightful owner of unclaimed property under such policies.
Unless the definition of Unclaimed Property in the state of Connecticut somehow excludes/exempts unclaimed lottery winnings?
"We may have something that belongs to you!"
Yes, indeed!
"We may have something that belongs to you!"
Amendment follows: "and we're keeping it!"
Respects and Regards to You, O Great Oracle!
Banks do their graft through various fees.
California is notorious for selling the contents of (not-so) safety deposit boxes if the owner hasn't visited in a while.
Here's the text version --> http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=4832471
He DID NOT claim the LOTTERY money in the time limit prescribed by law,therefore the money was NOT turned into the states UNCLAIMED PROPERTY division.THEREFORE THE STATE CORRECTLY SAID "YOU SNOOZE,YOU LOSE".Why is it so darn hard for liberals to comprehend this?They have RULES and the lottery players know those rules (or they should).RULES ARE FOR EVERYONE TO FOLLOW. E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E-,no exceptions for being three days late in trying to collect!SHEESE!
yea, i was thinkin along the same lines,not really his property til. the claim is complete.
you said it better than i could have.
Yeah,you couldn't make some people happy if you hung 'em with a new rope.
Liberals are always looking for free ride.
Wow, that was an eye-opener.
No safety deposit boxes for me. And to think selling people's safety deposit box contents is the third-highest source of income for Delaware.
What a bunch of thieves.
Thanks tt.