Includes video report
Someone really doesn't want to be a multimillionaire.
Crawford Shaw, the enigmatic 76-year-old New York attorney who represented a trust attempting to claim a Hot Lotto jackpot worth as much as $14.3 million, abruptly withdrew any claim to the money Thursday evening.
Apparently even Shaw doesn't know the identity of the person or persons behind Hexham Investments Trust, the group that sought the prize. Shaw told Iowa Lottery officials that the trust was a corporation in Belize, a small Central American country of about 330,000 people in a land area about one-sixth the size of Iowa.
The withdrawal ended nearly a month of wrangling between lottery officials and Shaw that included a proposal from Hexham to donate the after-tax proceeds from the jackpot — more than $7 million — to Iowa charities.
Lottery officials declined the charity offer, saying state law required them to confirm that the ticket was legally purchased, possessed and presented to them.
Without the names of the people behind the trust, the lottery couldn't release the prize, nor was it allowed to turn the money over to charity, Iowa Lottery Chief Executive Officer Terry Rich said Thursday.
Additionally, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller's office issued a joint statement saying they had opened an investigation into the case. Both agencies declined to comment further.
"It doesn't get much weirder than this," said Mary Neubauer, Iowa Lottery spokeswoman.
Two local lawyers turned ticket in
Thursday evening's revelations provided the strangest twist yet in a bizarre jackpot case that has stretched more than a year.
The winning ticket was bought at a northeast Des Moines convenience store in December 2010. The jackpot, then worth $16.5 million, went unclaimed for nearly a year until two attorneys from Davis, Brown, Koehn, Shors & Roberts PC, a Des Moines firm, took the ticket to Iowa Lottery headquarters less than two hours before it was to expire.
Shaw had signed the ticket as a trustee for Hexham Investments Trust. Since then, the would-be winners have remained hidden behind the trust and have declined to come forward. Iowa law requires winners' names and addresses to be made public, though winners don't have to make a public statement or appearance.
On Monday, lottery officials met with law enforcement officials and issued a deadline of 3 p.m. today for trust members to either reveal their identities or forfeit the prize. No names? No winnings.
Despite one 90-minute, face-to-face meeting with Shaw and at least three meetings with Davis Brown attorneys, lottery officials never were able to get the answers they required to pay the prize.
Who bought the ticket? Why did the buyer wait two hours shy of a year to have the ticket presented? And why, even after hiring lawyers in both New York and Des Moines to stake a claim to the prize, won't the person step into the sunlight to get the money?
"There is delayed gratification — like waiting until Christmas to open your presents rather than receiving them on the day the person bought them for you," said Bethany Weber, an Iowa State University assistant psychology professor. "But I don't think there's any clinical term for waiting a year to claim $14 million."
On Thursday evening, about 22 hours before today's deadline, Shaw and Hexham gave up.
Lottery security officials had verified this much: The ticket is authentic. It was found to have been neither forged nor tampered with.
Neither Iowa law nor lottery rules specifically grant lottery officials the authority to set a deadline for revealing an identity and address after a prize has been claimed.
Then again, lottery officials have never had to wait nearly a year for a jackpot winner to come forward. And when the winner or winners have come forward in the past, they were usually forthcoming with the details needed to claim the cash.
"Typically, it takes about two hours to gather all the information we need from a winner," Rich said. "This has gone on for nearly a month."
Tape, trust accord offer little help
The evidence was minimal. Lottery officials have an in-store security video recording of the ticket being purchased. They have said the tape clearly shows the sale, but they have declined to describe the appearance or gender or offer any other identifying information about the buyer.
Shaw presented lottery officials with a copy of the Hexham trust agreement, but lottery officials say it did not give them the information they needed to release the prize.
Lottery officials declined a Des Moines Register request to release both the video and the trust document, citing the ongoing investigation.
Some state lotteries allow trusts to claim prizes, and the Iowa Lottery has issued checks to trusts in the past, but lottery officials always have known who was behind the trust. This time, they don't.
Allowing a winner to be hidden behind paperwork degrades public interest in the game, said David Gale, executive director of the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries.
"One way to look at it is if you can't put a name to a winner, it raises the question, 'Is anybody really winning?' " Gale said. "You've got to protect the integrity of the games, and knowing who winners are is a major part of that."
Secrecy bids have rarely succeeded
Efforts to keep lottery winnings secret have occurred elsewhere, with limited success.
In 1999, a California woman won a lottery prize, then sought a quick divorce from her husband without disclosing her winnings. A judge ruled that the woman had to forfeit the entire $1.3 million jackpot to her ex-husband because of the state's community property laws.
In January 2011, a $390 million winner in Idaho disappeared after claiming her jackpot. She had not legally divorced her estranged husband. Both had been arrested on domestic assault charges in the course of their relationship. The woman was forced to give half the money to her husband.
In November, three Connecticut bankers claimed a $240 million Powerball prize. ABC News later said the men had formed a trust to claim the jackpot for an "anonymous friend," which a British newspaper, the Daily Mail, said was actually a wealthy client of the bankers.
Regardless of who was behind the trust trying to claim the Hot Lotto prize, Iowa Lottery officials had insisted they would rather pay than not — if they could have gotten information from the trust.
"We have the money, and we want to pay it," Neubauer, the lottery spokeswoman, said earlier this week. "We just need that basic information."
But it appears this mystery will go unsolved.
VIDEO: Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich holds news conference
Now I'm thinking illegal alien who had it taken from him and then conveniently disappeared.
I am not sure there is a law that prevents illegal aliens from playing the lottery.
Illegal aliens can successfully claim jackpot prizes. There is no residency requirement, and I'm not aware of any state that limits lawbreakers from playing and winning the lottery.
OK, an illegal alien who didn't know what to do and trusted the wrong people to help him or an illegal alien who is wanted for something and couldn't claim it.
If there are now 2 investigations continuing, I think they wanna know what happened to the guy in the picture who bought the ticket.
just keeps getting more interesting,should be called "what not to do if you wish to keep a low profile"
today i seen the story on just about every news outlet there is.
I think I understand this now. The only reason to put a Belize corporation into a trust is to hide the ownership of the corporation. I'm guessing that the person(s) who own the Belize corporation do not want the US government to know where they are, and leaking their name to the public makes them a target for whatever they're hiding in Belize for: tax evasion, extradition for crimes, etc.
Thanks for the education Todd.
I wasn't aware of the no residency requirement to claim a jackpot prize.
This just gets curiouser & curiouser.
Lottery officials declined a Des Moines Register request to release both the video and the trust document, citing the ongoing investigation.
Meaning if the investigation was not going on they would've released this information to the media.
Some state lotteries allow trusts to claim prizes, and the Iowa Lottery has issued checks to trusts in the past, but lottery officials always have known who was behind the trust. This time, they don't.
Allowing a winner to be hidden behind paperwork degrades public interest in the game, said David Gale, executive director of the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries.
"One way to look at it is if you can't put a name to a winner, it raises the question, 'Is anybody really winning?' " Gale said. "You've got to protect the integrity of the games, and knowing who winners are is a major part of that."
You claim your jackpot in the form of a trust. The minute the media or any money grubber shows up on your doorstep begging.
Your first duty is to track down the lottery director and cut his/her lying tounge out. Why because it will be someone in his office that happily passes off the private information that should've stayed private. And since the director is at the helm of the lottery commission during the information leak, he/she is obligated to go down with the ship. (snip!! snip!!)
So much for being able to protect YOUR privacy..........
P.S.
Has it occurred to anyone that there is a possibility that the ticket holder is already a multi-millionaire and that walking away from $14 million dollars is not that big of a deal for them?
The evidence was minimal. Lottery officials have an in-store security video recording of the ticket being purchased. They have said the tape clearly shows the sale, but they have declined to describe the appearance or gender or offer any other identifying information about the buyer.
Shaw presented lottery officials with a copy of the Hexham trust agreement, but lottery officials say it did not give them the information they needed to release the prize.
Lottery officials declined a Des Moines Register request to release both the video and the trust document, citing the ongoing investigation.
If you know who the buyer is via video and you have the store location where the purchase was made.
Instructions:
1. Send a lottery representative to the store location with a photo of the buyer/winner
2. Meet with the GM or store Owner, give him a picture of the buyer/winner and leave a contact number and if the buyer/winner ever return to that store. The person in charge can give him the info to contact the lottery office.
3. If you really want to pay out the prize them track this person down and pay them.
{Bet they'd find this person(s) in a flash if they committed a crime against the lottery!!!}
It's still not too late to payout......Why......The winning ticket was submitted before the deadline, regardless of how it was submitted. This could have been stolen from the rightful owner who's not aware that it's his/her/their ticket thats causing all of this mess.
"The winning ticket was submitted before the deadline, regardless of how it was submitted."
It's clear that the winning ticket was presented in time. The general info on the website says prizes must be "claimed" within 365 days, but I've got no idea what's in the fine print of the official rules. Depending on what the rules say this may fall into a grey area where the law is unclear. With Shaw withdrawing the trusts's claim the deadline may have made the ticket worthless, or simply having presented the ticket before the deadline may preserve some future claim on the money. It will be interesting to see what happens.
OK. Forget everything that was said EXCEPT for the part where he says the prize money will go back into the pool so it can be won again.
Nobody, not even Warren Buffet or Bill Gates, walks away from a $14 million dollar payout without an extremely good reason. My guess is something highly illegal took place to acquire that ticket. Theft by a store owner or murder would be high on my list reasons.
The Iowa Lottery continues to investigate,as does the Iowa Iowa Attorney General.
http://thegazette.com/2012/01/27/secrecy-key-to-offshore-accounts-linked-to-hot-lotto-case/
They're already splitting up the money between 15 states who can do with it as they please.
Maybe that's why they won't release the picture of the guy who bought the ticket.
They don't wanna give up the money.
Agreed. That just leaves............ how do they find the body of the person this was stolen from?
everyone who bought a ticket in that store needs to go and put a claim in
What i would do had I won, is to change my name beofre redeeming the ticket, find an apartment complex that rents month to month, move in, change my address to the new location. Then redeem the ticket. Once the hoopla is over, move out of the apartment, change my name to some other name than my original, and live happily ever after. What's the problem? Sure, it may seem like a hassle, but it's worth it compared to the enormous hassle of dodging hustlers, hostage takers, and beggers.
Would you change it to a common name like John Smith or something more ethnic like Mike Oxarizin?
savagegoose,
I think you have posted before about the Australian lottery or an Australian lottery where the ticket price is $1.03 AUS, the $.03 takes care of the tax, and that remaining anonymous is no big deal.
Reading these threads about this Iowa Hot Lotto I think every lottery doirector in the US should go to Australia for some intensive training.
lets think about this... somebody comes back to the store where they bought the winning ticket, hands it to the guy that works there an says, can u check if this is a winner?... the guy says nah you lost, then he keeps the ticket and tries to claim it thru a blind trust. want to find the crook behind this mystery, start at the store where the ticket was bought
close, Mike Hunt..
thanks for noticing,
yeah the gov gets its tax and its pre paid, ie from every purchaser, not the winner.
but really although the player has the option of remaining anonymous here, its not from the gov. they still want to know. I imagine the exact same trouble to brew ; as with iowa, here if a blind trust claimed.
We had a case wherea news paper researched; read paid someone. to tell them the name of an anonymous claimant of the highest jackpot to date $30 mill.
the guy succsesfully sued the paper for publishing, and got costs associated with moveing and covering his tracks " again ". not american style suing. prob just a small amount.
so yea even tho we have a box to tcik saying NFP, nor for publication, when you claim a lotto, the gov does know who you are.
Yep, Maybe they could run a computer check to see if the ticket was run thru to see if it was a winner at some point prior to being claimed.
My best guess: the individual who bought the ticket was:
a) not eligible to win (lottery employee or underaged);
b) *thought* they were not eligible to win (felon or immigration status); or
c) was desperate to hide the windfall (child support, tax cheat, etc).
This guy can't be bothered with the publicity and sold the unsigned ticket. Maybe for only few million, but cash under the table. Could there be a black market for the people who buy and sell annuities? Could have even been sold a few times during the year?
Okay, probably a stretch. Shoot some holes in that hypothesis.
ive known a few rich people, and they dont say " i cant be bothered collecting $14M "
theyre tight areses as a general rule. even more tight fisted than poor people.
either its a crim, or someone who will see the money slip thru finger,s ie a bankrupt, . or its stolen.
Agreed! but there are always ways around it
a) If you're an emplyee what about having a trusted Family member do it for you? And the parents can claim for the underaged
b) I think you can claim your prize if you're an illegal immigrant no? With that much money I'm sure you'll be comfortable in whichever country you live
c) C'mon No one walks away from millions of dollars even if you wanted desperately to hide your windfall. I know if loosing my jacpot was at risk, I would have come forward IMMEDIATELY!
gotta admit of this guy worked for the company no wonder it went bankrupt
Maybe it was someone who had a scheme for winning Hot Lotto who would rather walk away this time and try again later rather than expose themselves, their scheme and risk not getting the jackpot too.
I'm certain that this is the case. I thought about all the reasons possible for why somebody with the actual verified winning ticket would just drop their claim and this one seemed to be the most valid. Here in Florida when you bring in tickets for the person at the counter to check they insert it into their terminal if it's not a winner it prints it in big bold letters across 3/4 of the ticket NOT A WINNER and if it was a winner it comes out with nothing and the ticket printer which is a small machine to the side prints out another ticket which they usually staple to the actual ticket to pay you. In the case of a big winner the person would probably instruct you to take it to the local lottery headquarters. Unless you were a complete idiot you would be hard pressed to be scammed with this method. That said most places I've been they don't print this on the ticket, the guy behind the counter can say whatever they want and life goes on. I personally check my tickets and a few times when I had winners I went to the store to collect and purposely brought in a few losers to go with my winner to see what the person would do and never once has somebody attempted to steal my winner.
They need to release the picture of this winner, it's that simple. If something more sinister has occured then it needs to be brought to light if people expect the general public to have confidence in the lotto process. After seeing what happened to that lotto winner who was murdered I can't put anything past people when it comes to money. That said it was after the fact of collecting but lets be honest that nobody would ever turn down a winning ticket for that much money. Something very wrong has occured here that could range from retailer theft, inside job to murder. Once again nobody is going to decline that kind of money and I don't care if you're a billionaire you're going to collect.
Time for them to put this picture out there, identify the person and work from there as it's obvious that person has no clue they have won. I suspect the winner is not of age to buy lottery tickets but even then I think they would hire some slick lawyer to put up a fight on their behalf not just walk away from this incurring lawyer fees for the representation they have already received. It's just crazy and releasing the picture of the winner would bring a quick ending to this story or at least advance it to the stage of fighting over who's ticket this really is.
Avoiding the law I agree is the only thing that makes sense here. Even if the person were an illegal alien, this vas far as I know would not disqualify them from collecting. This in fact would secure his/her Amercian Dream as the state would know firsthand he/she would not be a burden and can make a significant contibution. There is no restriction from non US citizens playing the lottery and any Q&A would quickly verify that. There bwas an illegal alien that won out of NYC before!
Maybe the lottery does know what is amiss here and confronted him and he went away knowing he was caught with his pants down and subsequently withdrew the claim.
Good points. I'll take a stab.
For a), my assumption is that officials have a good surveillance image of the purchase. If a close relative of a lottery employee claims the prize, it might come back to them. My guess is it is the fourth question they ask you when you file a big claim.
For b) and c) my point was they didn't walk away from collecting, but they could have sold the unsigned ticket at a discount -- even $4M cash for a $14M annuity sounds like a deal. I realize felons and illegal immigrants are eligible to collect, but they might not know that, or might not want to give their address to anyone remotely related to the tax system for the state, or just don't need any attention drawn to their community. I guess there is a difference between collecting anonymously and staying off the radar.
I'm waiting for a "Downfall" parody showing Hitler in the bunker, waiting for Shaw to let him know the prize has been collected...
savagegoose,
" so yea even tho we have a box to tcik saying NFP, nor for publication, when you claim a lotto, the gov does know who you are."
Well that still is better than winning and having your name and photo plastered on lottery monitors all over your state.
When I told my wife about the NFP option on the tickets, she asked if that stood for, "No Freaking Payout".
"Has it occurred to anyone that there is a possibility that the ticket holder is already a multi-millionaire and that walking away from $14 million dollars is not that big of a deal for them?"
I knew it was Mitt Romney! He bought a ticket on one of his many trips to Iowa.
Lottery Officials have an in-store video recording of the lottery ticket being purchased and they say it looks like the person is of legal age.Wow,can you imagine if that $14.2 million lottery ticket was worth $100 million.That would have been really something to talk about.
Is it possible that its someone who works for the lottery who actually won?
there are too many lacunas in this story,where did crawford shaw the attorney get the ticket? there must have been some one who handed the ticket to him,so mr.shaw could draft the legal contract that he took to hot lotto's office. in my opinion he is a liar,he has the information but he denies the true fact. how can he not know who is the real person who gave him the ticket,i smell a rat. its shame that 14 million dollars were not claimed, even multi-millionaires will not let this amount go there is more to this story which will reveal it self in coming weeks
The winner was Mitt Romney. But it would look terrible for him to accept the money right now with all the controversy surrounding his earnings and his 13.9% tax percentage. Seriously, I truly think the winner is someone well-off and in public office or has a huge public profile.
Nobody is going to turn down the money even if they are well off.
This is one of three things.
A. Even though they say the person appears to be of age unless he/she were a senior looks can be very deceiving.
B. Somehow the store convinced this person it wasn't a winner and is now collecting the ticket for themselves.
C. Somebody stole the ticket from a friend/spouse when they saw it in their car or on a fridge. The real winner has no clue they won. When this happend in the past and somebody tried to get a divorce and keep it secret the full amount was awarded to the party that was trying to be stolen from.
The media should continue to hound the lottery on this one. I know they have rejected them trying to use the freedom of information act or whatever it's called but it's time to take them to court. Revealing the picture of the person who purchased this ticket is the only way to get to the bottom of this. I'm kind of shocked they didn't do it sooner after nobody collected in a reasonable amount of time. I just don't understand why somebody waited till the last possible moment to cash this in.
It's a great story either way but hopefully it comes to an end soon.
I think I agree with you. I think someone stole the ticket and the true owner of the ticket was not aware that the ticket was a winner. That is the only reasonable thing that makes sense. If someone "sold" the ticket for a set amount of money, the financial transaction HAS to be recorded somewhere; ie money withdrawn or money deposited. That scenario is easy to investigate. I don't know of too many people who keep millions laying around in a safe in thier house. The last possibility is that the true owner of the ticket has met with foul play and I hope that is not the case.