Lottery Winner Files Lawsuit to Conceal Identity
A man who won one of the largest lottery payments in U.S. history has filed a federal lawsuit against the mother of his child in an attempt to keep his identity concealed.
The man won a $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot earlier this year after purchasing a lottery ticket at a gas station in Lebanon, Maine. He has sued his child's mother in U.S. District Court in Portland with a complaint that she violated a nondisclosure agreement by "directly or indirectly disclosing protected subject matter" about his winnings, court papers state.
The court papers state that the defendant in the case disclosed the information to the winner's father and stepmother. Both the winner and the defendant in the case are identified only by pseudonyms.
Court filings state that the winner lives in Maine and the defendant lives in Massachusetts. The defendant has until Dec. 6 to respond to the lawsuit.
Records did not list an attorney for the defendant in the case. The winner's attorney, Gregory Brown of Knoxville, Tennessee, told the Portland Press Herald that neither he nor his client would discuss the lawsuit.
According to the complaint, the winner and the defendant made a nondisclosure agreement shortly after the winning ticket was purchased. The lawsuit claims that the winner is now seeking an injunction from a judge and damages of at least $100,000.
The plaintiff defied the odds, which were about 1 in 302.6 million, to win the grand prize in the Mega Millions lottery last January. This win marked the first time a ticket bought in Maine matched all six numbers to claim the jackpot, which was one of the largest in Mega Millions history. The biggest Mega Millions jackpot amounted to an estimated $1.537 billion and was won in 2018. The largest lottery jackpot in the United States, totaling an estimated $2.04 billion, was won by a ticket purchased in California in November 2022.
Lottery winners, including the plaintiff, have the option to receive their jackpot prize as an annuity, with annual payments spread over 29 years, or as a lump sum paid out immediately. For the $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot, the cash option was approximately $724.6 million.
According to reports, the majority of states in the United States do not allow lottery winners to remain anonymous when they receive their jackpot. However, there are a few states, around twelve, that do permit anonymity, although some have restrictions for larger winnings. In the state of Maine, winners are not allowed to receive their payments anonymously. However, after the recent $1.35 billion jackpot drawing, the Maine state lottery announced that they would allow the winner to be identified only through the limited liability company, LaKoma Island Investments, which was used to purchase the winning ticket. You can find more information about this on the Portland Press Herald.
