Posted on 02/06/2018 12:22:32 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Just imagine this situation for a moment. You’ve checked your lottery tickets and discovered that you’ve won almost half a billion dollars. You’ve signed the ticket and are ready to go. What in the world would stop you at this point? That’s the issue facing one anonymous woman in New Hampshire right now. She’s got the valid winning ticket but wants the ability to receive her prize anonymously and not have her name announced for all to hear. (Washington Post)
The winning numbers triple-checked and the lottery ticket signed, the New Hampshire woman knew her life was about to change in a very positive way — except for one petrifying thing.
As the winner of last month’s $560 million Powerball, she would soon be the world’s newest owner of a nine-digit bank account.
But because of lottery rules, everyone in the world would know about it — neighbors, old high school friends, con artists, criminals.
Now the woman is asking a judge to let her keep the cash — and remain anonymous. In court documents obtained by NewHampshire.com, she is fittingly identified only as Jane Doe.
Jane Doe has a serious problem at this point because the law is not on her side. State laws require the names of lottery jackpot winners to be made public. Ms. Doe feels it violates her right to privacy and may endanger her life. This isn’t a unique problem for lottery winners. Unless you live in Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio or South Carolina, if you win the big prize, the state will publish your name.
My immediate, gut level reaction is to side with Jane Doe on this. Why shouldn’t people be allowed their privacy? It’s not illegal to win the lottery and how you handle your own finances (provided you’re not breaking the law) is your own business. If you land a new job with a great salary you’re not required to make that information public unless you work for the taxpayers. Also, as the WaPo article goes on to point out, there have actually been a significant number of jackpot winners who have been murdered in attempts to get their money. Others are blackmailed and virtually all of them are the targets of endless scammers and others seeking to separate them from their new riches.
The state has a definite, selfish motive for wanting to publicize the winners. It makes for great, free advertising to keep people playing. But they also make a case which is tough to argue with. If they never publish the names of the big winners and those people don’t come forward of their own accord, how does the public know that anyone is actually being paid and the whole thing isn’t a scam? Also, some of the people seeking anonymity may be doing so in order to hide out from debts which may be hanging over their heads.
This is one of those questions which may require a creative solution, assuming the states can be forced to accommodate the request. Perhaps some sort of independent commission which verifies the winners and keeps the names sealed but available if legal questions arise later? There’s definitely a public demand for such a solution. One poll conducted in New England a while back showed that the number one response to the question of what people would do if they won a massive jackpot was… keep it secret.
Right. So she should be able to pay some to get that protection now.
But truthfully I think the states that force every winner to be named may have it right. There is surely insider fraud and the best defense against that is to have the winners named publicly.
Other rich people are almost always known and there is no reason that lottery winners should have special privacy.
Sure she does. But it sounds like she likes the life she has now and wants to live a normal life, at least as normal as possible and I can’t blame her for that. One of the worst mistakes many lottery winners make is living large and making themselves known and therefore easy targets and with many unhappy endings. The ones who go on to lead happy lives, live more simply while still enjoying the financial security and benefits.
The lawsuit, filed last week, describes the woman as an "engaged community member." "She wishes to continue this work and the freedom to walk into a grocery store or attend public events without being known or targeted as the winner of a half-billion dollars," the complaint said. It adds that she plans on remaining in New Hampshire and giving back "to the state and community that has given so much to her."
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/06/winner-of-560m-lottery-says-she-made-a-huge-mistake.html
Also keep in mind that even with the best “security” money can buy, that won’t guarantee one’s safety. Just take a look at how some “celebrities” are stalked and harassed not only by paparazzi but also crazed stalkers, and I’m not talking about the ones who seek out the limelight Kardashian style.
But truthfully I think the states that force every winner to be named may have it right. There is surely insider fraud and the best defense against that is to have the winners named publicly.
Some states like Maryland allow winners to remain anonymous without any fraud.
https://www.cnn.com/2012/04/10/us/maryland-lottery-winner/index.html
I rarely buy a lottery ticket but do once and a while. I’d want to remain anonymous and if I couldn’t would if allowed by PA, set up a trust to keep myself so. I had a stalker, a guy who I went out on a single date with once some years ago and I still look over my shoulder in fear of him.
How do you know there is no fraud in the lottery in MD?
And she lives in NH. Millionaires and billionaires can and generally do live nice quiet lives there. If she needs a tad more security, so be it. That doesn’t mean she needs to go blow the money on whatever.
And if she really doesn’t want to be known for her wealth, she can give the money away and not be a target at all.
Very interesting read. Thanks for posting!
Cash in the ticket and then go away for about a month.
” 2AM, phone rings”
Not if you don’t have a phone.
the problem is....most people that play the lottery would not be able to keep themselves quiet.
so, it would not really matter if they were “allowed” to remain anonymous...they simply couldn’t.
have you ever met a chronic gambler that was not a braggart at some level? They always seem to brag about winnings, etc...they rarely lose, etc...
pure BS. even a rudimentary understanding of probability would point out their mental folly...
So true. My aunt was taken by a Jamaican Lottery scam. She feel hard for it because she wanted to taunt all her friends and relatives with her success.
Hire someone to take care of the house. Get a storage area out of town and put everything in it you want to keep. Sell or donate the cars. Do not leave the USA. Kidnapping is rampant outside the US. Hire a CPA and a lawyer. Cash in the ticket and do what they agree together to do. Give them your email address and tell them to text or email you only.
If you live in the NE, go to the Southwest and vice versa. Take a computer with you, you will need it. Stay away for at least a month. Never answer your phone. If you give money to anyone, it will not be enough and you will have to do it forever.
Point is, win the lottery and they will track you down.
Tracking me down and getting money from me are two different things. I’m good at saying “No”
Some states allow them to be. Lottery winners in Kansas can remain anonymous. Lottery winners in Missouri are identified. That’s just part of the contract you make when you buy the ticket.
How or what are trusts named? Could you sign it in a name and then have the trust made in that name?
AppyPappy wrote: “Tracking me down and getting money from me are two different things. I’m good at saying “No”.”
Being able to say “no”is only part of it. It’s having to say “no” twenty times a day. Read some of the stories of former winners. Everyone they know wants some. Everyone they don’t know wants some. They all ask.
I don’t really play the lottery, so I’m not sure what’s required. If you have to “sign” the ticket to redeem it and you want to redeem it in the name of a trust rather than your own name, I would presume that would somehow need to be reflected. But really, this isn’t my world.
Not mine either. I haven’t ever bought a ticket. I would only if The LORD told me to.
Ha—so we might both pay a lot of taxes, but at least we don’t pay the “stupid tax”!
One of the biggest lottery scams in the US was by insider Eddie Tipton, who scammed millions. Allowing anonymous winners would almost certainly have allowed him to get away with it.
http://www.kcci.com/article/eddie-tipton-comes-clean-in-lotto-rigging-scandal/10014528
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