Every once in a while a lottery jackpot becomes so huge that people can't help but band together in the hope of increasing their odds, pooling their money for a wad of tickets and promising to evenly split the spoils. Seems like a good idea until lightning strikes and the group wins.
Then the future involves not only luxury, but also lawsuits. Numerous group winners have been sued by people claiming to have pitched in for the ticket, creating messy fights over what money will be left once the attorneys are paid. And most state lotteries don't give much official guidance on how to avoid such problems.
On Monday, rumors swirled about the three people holding winning tickets from the record-breaking $656 million Mega Millions drawing Friday night.
Kansas, Illinois and Maryland each have a winner. But as of Monday night, no one -- individual or group -- had yet stepped forward.
The New York Post reported that one potential winner in Maryland was a McDonald's employee who claimed to hold the winning ticket as an individual, but also bought tickets for several people as part of a restaurant pool. If the woman does indeed have a winning ticket, it could trigger just the latest group lottery lawsuit.
Maryland Lottery spokeswoman Carole Everett says the agency doesn't put out any information for groups, though she recommends friends and colleagues who play together come up with a system, including copying and distributing the group tickets to pool members and making a list of people who are participating.
“That way there's no confusion or mistaking it,” she said.
In Illinois, where one of the three winning tickets was purchased in the small town of Red Bud, Lottery spokesman Mike Lang also recommended advanced planning to stave off disputes.
“There have been disputed wins in just about every lottery in the country,” Lang said.
That's when lawyers get involved.
New Jersey attorney Rubin Sinins recently represented five construction workers who claimed a colleague, Americo Lopes, cheated them out of their share of a $38.5 million Mega Millions jackpot in 2009. The group was part of a weekly lottery pool, but Lopes claimed he bought the winning ticket for himself. A unanimous jury in New Jersey decided otherwise in March and awarded the construction workers $4 million each. Sinins said his advice to people participating in an office pool is to “use common sense.”
Resolving disputed group winnings can take years.
In 2010, colleagues at a Florida country club won $16 million in the state lottery but soon faced a lawsuit from one regular pool member who wasn't at the club the day money was collected for the tickets. Jeanette French played the lottery with colleagues for nine years, though the members of the group changed over time. Seven group members claimed the winning ticket, but a lawyer for French got her claimed portion of the winnings set aside in a trust which the two sides are now fighting over.
One of French's attorneys, Miami lawyer Eric Shane, suggested that pool participants establish written rules and consider having each player sign the rules. He also suggested trying to keep pool members consistent. But his real advice?
“My true advice, honestly, would be don't do a pool,” Shane said. (AP)
<관련 한글 기사>
사상최고 복권 당첨금 놓고 분쟁 일어나
미국 메릴랜드주(州) 볼티모어의 한 맥도널드 매장에서 근무하는 멀랜드 윌슨(37.여)씨는 지난달 31일 동료 직원에게 전화를 걸어 "내가 당첨됐어"라고 소리를 질렀다.
윌슨씨는 총 6억4천만달러(약 7천250억원)라는 사상최고의 당첨금이 걸린 메가밀리언 복권의 당첨자 3명 가운데 한 명으로 일부 언론에 보도됐다.
동료들이 함께 기뻐할 일이었지만 문제는 간단치 않았다. 맥도널드 매장의 동료 직원 15명이 돈을 모아 이른바 `로또계'를 한 것이 화근이었다.
동료들로부터 1인당 5달러씩을 거둬 복권을 구입한 것이 윌슨씨였고, 그는 당첨 소식이 전해진 후 뉴욕포스트와의 인터뷰에서 "나도 로또계를 했지만 당첨된 복권은 내가 따로 구입한 것이었다"고 주장했다.
이런 불상사를 예상하기라도 한 듯 동료 직원들은 당시 구입한 복권을 매장의 안전한 곳에 모아뒀지만 맥도널드 매장 주인이 직원들의 로또계에 5달러를 보태는 `선심'을 쓴 것이 분쟁의 결정적인 계기가 됐다.
윌슨씨의 주장대로 자신의 돈으로 따로 구입한 복권이 당첨됐는지 아니면 주인이 로또계에 포함시키라면서 준 돈으로 구입한 복권이 당첨됐는지는 본인 밖에 모르는 상황이 된 것이다.
그가 실제로 1등에 당첨됐다면 세금을 제외하고도 1억500만달러(약 1천180억원) 를 받게 된다. 아이티 출신의 윌슨씨는 현재 언론과의 접촉을 피하고 있다고 폭스뉴스는 3일(현지시간) 보도했다.
그러나 메릴랜드주 복권당국 관계자는 "당첨 복권을 들고 와서 확인을 할 때까지는 당첨자가 나왔다고 할 수 없다"면서 "아직 공식적으로 당첨자는 없는 상태"라고 말했다.
메릴랜드주 관련법에 따르면 복권당첨자가 익명을 요구할 수 있기 때문에 윌슨씨의 1등 당첨 여부는 영원히 `비밀'이 될 수도 있다.
윌슨씨의 동료 직원인 술레이만 오스만 후세인 씨는 현지 언론과의 인터뷰에서 "그가 우리에게 이럴 수는 없다"면서 "우리는 모두 5달러씩을 냈는데 우리의 돈을 모두 가져갔다"고 주장했다.
미 언론은 이런 사태를 막기 위해 로또계를 할 때는 참가자들에게 모두 복사본을 돌리는 등 신중을 기해야 한다는 게 전문가들의 조언이라고 전했다. (연합뉴스)
