Maybe all those TV appearances weren't such a great idea
As the Powerball jackpot topped $1 billion, the frenzy grew. It was fun to dream, even if you knew you stood little chance. But often, a winner faces suits by friends, co-workers, even family. Sadly, it has now happened to the winning Robinson family of Munford, Tennessee. Jonathan Lee Riches, also known as Jihadi Schitz, has sued the Multistate Lottery Commission, Powerball and the Robinson family. The suit attempts to halt the payout of their third of the $1.6 billion win, or to recoup Mr. Riches' alleged one-half of the loot.
The lawsuit is homespun and handwritten, hardly legible, much less drafted in the language of lawyers. But the suit is evidently meant to be serious, laying claim to half the winnings. Mr. Riches is the real winner, the home-made lawsuit claims. It goes on to allege that Mr. Riches was incarcerated in a penitentiary for the last several years, during which time Mr. Riches claims he was in frequent written contact with Ms. Tiffany Robinson, the daughter of the putative winners. Mr. Riches claims to have sent Tiffany $20 from his prison trust fund, urging her to give the money to her parents to buy lottery tickets, which the suit alleges they otherwise could not afford.
Mr. Riches goes on to allege that Tiffany was going to "murry him," and that if they won the lottery, they would leave America to live on a remote island full of milk and honey. He is bitter that she and her parents are spending money Mr. Riches claims is half his. His complaint says he is a Muslim and that Tiffany was going to be his Muslim wife.
John and Lisa Robinson and their daughter Tiffany recently appeared on the Today show, noting some plans for the money. They are celebrities in Munford, a town of 6,000 north of Memphis. They want to help friends, give to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, and donate to their church. Tiffany mentioned paying off student loans and has always wanted a horse.
Mr. Robinson has said he bought the winning ticket at his wife's request. He bought four quick-pick tickets, one for each family member, then gave them to his wife and went to lie down when he got home. She stayed up to watch the Wednesday night drawing, carefully writing down the numbers. The Robinson family is entitled to roughly $533 million if they collect 30 years of payments, or roughly $327 million in a lump sum. The Robinsons' son, Adam, is an electrician, less in the limelight than Tiffany.
But with happiness, can come legal claims and stress, on top of taxes. For remember, lottery winnings are taxed. The IRS takes taxes up to the top 39.6% rate. Yet the tax withholding rate on lottery winnings is only 25%. Some lottery winners can have trouble paying their taxes when they file. Most states will take a nice chunk of the money too.
The taxes on winning tickets are not the only downside. Apart from paying the taxman, what if friends, family or co-workers claim a share of the loot? It happens more often than you might think, often based on an alleged oral agreement. An innocent remark about splitting the winnings might be misinterpreted. Then, you must add the inevitable lawyers' fees for defending against the claims.
Most such cases settle, yet taxes can hit on such legal settlements in surprising ways too. The jackpots do not need to be in the hundreds of millions for winners to be targets. Take the 53-year-old California woman who won $1 million, but faced a lawsuit by the liquor store owner who sold her the winning ticket. Eva Reyes was a winner, but the owner of the liquor Store where she bought the ticket sued her.
The store owner claimed that Ms. Reyes promised to split the money — $350,000 each after taxes — for fronting the money to buy the tickets. Even if you win a lawsuit, you may have to pay the IRS, even on your attorneys' fees paid directly to your lawyer. When people talk of paying tax on money they never see — like money paid to a contingent fee lawyer from a case — it is usually because of the Alternative Minimum Tax.
Not every lottery case involves co-workers or friends. Sometimes the disputes are with family members, which can be even worse. In Dickerson v. Commissioner, an Alabama Waffle House waitress won a $10 million lottery jackpot on a ticket given to her by a customer. The trouble started when she tried to benefit her family and spread the wealth. The Tax Court held she was liable for gift tax when she transferred the winning ticket to a family company of which she owned 49%.
Tax advice before the plan might have avoided the extra tax dollars. Perhaps she shouldn't have assigned her claim in a waffle house. Time and again, winners have trouble paying their taxes and resolving disputes. And sadly, winners are targets for lawsuits. But cheer up, the odds of winning are daunting.
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HAHAHAHA!
This is great.
Imagine the amount of mail they are getting. Professional beggars who make their money from generous winners will not take NO for an answer.
Good Luck with the phone calls. Change your number and it still could be made public.
The other two winners are learning from the Robinson's mistakes.
Here in California, I will only be required to give my name. The city where the ticket is purchased will be public information.
No grip and grin photo. No press interview.
I will give the press a written statement. It will only include my name and information about Todd Northrop's websites, www.lotterypost.com and www.usamega.com. Plus my handle, music*
I will be in contact with the Fresno Lottery District Office until I cash in.
A perfect example of why winners should skip the media blitz. You can't even imagine half of the schemes liars crooks and beggars will target you with.
I had some gas station employee ask for money when I bought my last powerball lottery ticket during the big frenzy. I knew better to not spout off and agree to it.
LOL and they are still enjoying being more popular than Kim Kardashian or Justin Bieber. More TV appearances, magazine covers, etc
These inmates need to be doing hard labor so they're to tired and have no time to come up with this nonsense.
As for the winners, they might now be rethinking their decision to become celebrities.
@music*
"no grip and grin photo" LOL ! I like that !
This shouldn't hold water in court. It has been repeated more then one time that Mr. Robinson stop & get the tickets at his wife's require. {1st. Question. Where is this inmate $20.00 in this picture/better yet why is not mention at all Tiffany Robinson put any money toward the purchase of the tickets? Next question, only 1 ticket win the jackpot.Mr Robinson said he purchase 4 tickets one for each family member. Frankly that means 3 of tickets are loser. Meaning the real winner, is share some of it with the losers. The inmate could write to Tiffany Robinson until the cows come home, her ticket don't win. If she had been the winner she would been the one getting the lawyer and talking on the shows. They're saying Tiffany want to pay off student loans. That mean she old enough to purchase her own ticket & her boyfriends as well. Final question. The inmate stated that he send the money because the Robinson family couldn't afford them. Let see if this story holds water or if we can deflate this issue right here. Four tickets with the power ball option $12. Husband works in a warehouse supervisor. Wife works in a doctor office. The inmate want to claim his allege share by using his so call relationship with Tiffany. He could married Tiffany all he want, but she is not the winner. Tiffany & her brother are both get what ever they are got only because their parent love them & wanted to be nice to them by including them. Last but not less, Tiffany is mention for school loans , not ones was it mention she had a JOB. They mention that their son had one, not her. There for 0 from 0 = zero!
This criminal has entirely too much free time. I guess after one of his many daily praying rituals Mohamed must have instructed him an alternative to get rich quick.
Jonathan Lee Riches is a former federal prisoner (inmate #40948-018)[1] known for the many lawsuits he has filed in various United States district courts.[2] Riches was incarcerated at Federal Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky, for wire fraud under the terms of a plea bargain. His release date was April 30, 2012.[3] He was arrested for violating his federal probation in December 2012, when he left the Eastern District of the state of Pennsylvania without permission. He allegedly drove to Connecticut and impersonated the uncle of Adam Lanza, the shooter in the Sandy Hook Elementary School incident.[4]
Wiki
No wonder why the Robbinson Families in such a
rush to be on National Television,before even stopping
at the Lottery headquarter to claim their prize.
Jihadi Schitz obviously has been spending way too much time in the toilet and is probably having a crappy time in jail. Somebody get this inmate a shrink please. What a waste of tax payers money.
I think this nitwit smacked his head on his cement floor prayer mat too many times. This is why I advocate for claiming a prize anonymously and it should be an option is EVERY SINGLE STATE. Or at least claim a prize as a Trust with layers of LLC's. These nut jobs may still find you, but it will take some doing and they are bound to trip up and break a privacy law here and there. That's when you get the law involved. I hate to say it but the Robinsons left themselves wide open when they listened to their ding-dong attorney and went public like they did. Live and learn I guess.
Jihadi Schitz, rotflmao
I suspect we haven't heard the end of this families weird woes.
Regarding those oral agreements. I don't know if anyone has won in court with those oral agreements. There should be a lottery rule, that would state " No oral agreements are allowed in any state lottery. All lottery tickets are paid-out to only those winning lottery tickets with a signature " No more of those law-suits.
What does Tiffany have to say about all this? When are we going to hear her side of the story?
It has begun. I don't feel their attorney is competent enough to file a motion to dismiss.
But wouldn't it be funny if the daughter had a prison pen pal?
...And her actions leading to the parents settling. I can just see their incompetent lawyer saying " we need to nip this off now before we have a floodgates of lawsuits, just pay the guy!"
Can you hear Jihadi singing the old Simon and Garfunkel song " Jesus loves you more than you will know.God bless you please Mrs Robinson...
This is probably one of the top replies I have ever seen on Lottery Post!
The Robinson's should hightail it to Costa Rica soon? Before all hell breaks loose?
this is just the beginning!!
Obviously this guy has mental issues combined with a love of scamming, so I'm not even going address how insane his claim is.
Tangentially, why are people even allowed to sue the MUSL? If a person brings in a winning ticket to the lottery and passes their security screening, why should any non-government entity (i.e student loans, child support) be allowed to stop that disbursement? If lottery winnings are being taxed as income, shouldn't they be treated as income? If someone sues me, it doesn't stop me from getting pay check. I still get my income, I just have to go to court and prove my case against the suit. Why isn't this done with lottery winnings?
Inmates are known for frivolous lawsuits. "I didn't get enough peanut butter with my sandwich" is a typical one.
This thread has me wondering how many other jp winners have been approached by inmates.
a smart lotto winner might start running a 1900 number.
You become a smarter criminal in Prison. I've learned some impressive scams from people i know who were locked up.
Had they hired a smarter lawyer, he would have protected their identity with trust funds and not paraded them on national tv shows. First the Today show before they had even turned in the ticket. Saw them on the Ellen Show this week. Why are they doing this? Are they just giddy from the win or something?
This is another reason why lottery winners should remain anonymous. But that couple from Tennessee wanted the fame and publicity. They wanted to show off, but now they became targets for endless requests for money and frivolous lawsuits.
Regardless of how much publicity the Robinson family has had. When the Robinson fill out the forms to get the check. IF Tiffany Robinson name wasn't on that form. She get nothing, no check of her own. This inmate was Tiffany pen-pal. I believe her parents would given her some credit for helping purchase the tickets even if she just chip in a dollar. Lisa Robinson on the other hand continue to take credit for getting her husband to pick up the tickets.Tiffany Robinson on the other hand has had plenty of chances to say, I chip in on buying these tickets. Yet we haven't heard her say anything. Tiffany is a grown woman. The Inmate need to talk to Tiffany about $20. Her parents WIN, not Tiffany.That $20. is Tiffany debt, not her parents. It the parents do anything at all, it will be because it up-setting their daughter. If Tiffany Robinson name ...etc is not on the lottery form to be include as one of the people to pay, the Lottery should not stop that check. I'll go one step more if her name is on the form then the in-mate need to be taking Tiffany Robinson only to court for his share. He said he send the money to Tiffany, not her parents. It don't appear anything to proof her parents got anything if either of their children toward the purchase of the winning ticket. Most parents are usually glad to say the kids help buy something.
that is why the lawyers said this family was star struck and very stupid to go on national tv and claim this large prize...now these are all the things that will be coming towards them left and right and sadly they have no one to blame but themselves for they are the ones who swung the door wide open and opened themselves up to this,
looks like their lawyer just got his 1st paid work for them.
This is especially true if they are a LP member since a lot of people who come here consider everyone here a friend who has an obligation to help them.
I didn't know that they get sued by an inmate.
Yeah right sure murry him 20 bucks ha!!!!
I thought in California you HAD TO appear in a press conference. I know you have to give your name, but this is great news if you don't have to appear at the press conference.
This is retarded and should not even be in the news. There should be no case and should be thrown out to discourage this kind of nonsense in the future. Inmates should not even be able to do this. What is he going to do with that money in prison anyway? Nothing he is just trying to take it away from them and based on his name sounds like a terrorist attack on their money.
Who is Jihadi Schitz? Also known by the alias Jack Schitt.
The lineage is finally revealed. Many people are at a loss for a response when someone says: "You don't know Jack Schitt". Now you can intellectually handle the situation.
Jack is the only son of Awe Schitt. Awe Schitt the fertilizer magnate, married O. Schitt the owner of Needeep N. Schitt, Inc. They had one son named Jack.
In turn, Jack Schitt married Noe Schitt. The deeply religious couple produced six children: Holie Schitt, Fulla Schitt, Giva Schitt, Bull Schitt, and the twins Deap Schitt and Dip Schitt. However, after being married for 15 years, Jack and Noe Schitt divorced.
Noe Schitt later remarried Ted Sherlock and, because her kids were living with them, she wanted to keep her previous name. She was then known as Noe Schitt-Sherlock.
Against her parents objections, Deap Schitt married Dumb Schitt a high school dropout.
Meanwhile, Dip Schitt married Loda Schitt and they produced a son of nervous disposition, Chicken Schitt.
Two of the other six children, Fulla Schitt and Giva Schitt, were inseperable throughout childhood and subsequently married the Happens brothers in a dual ceremony. The wedding announcement in the newspaper announced the Schitt- Happens wedding. The Schitt- Happens children were: Dawg, Byrd, and Hoarse.
Bull Schitt, the prodigal son, left home to tour the world. He recently returned from Italy with his new Italian bride, Pisa Schitt.
So now when someone says: "You don't know Jack Schitt", you can correct them.
Family history was recorded by Crock O. Schitt.
I feel sorry for the Robinsons. They gonna have to learn the hard way I guess. Sounds like the parents lived paycheck to paycheck since the daughter had student loans.
That is some funny schitt ! LMAO !
Back in my days in college I came across the "Jack Schitt" video and your post brought back funny memories...wish I still had the link to that clip as it was hilarious!