FARK.com: (6995646) Cue Ha Ha Guy as lottery winner forced to share jackpot with co-workers

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		Cue Ha Ha Guy as lottery winner forced to share jackpot with co-workers (news.yahoo.com)		140
		More: Dumbass, ha-has, Illinois State, Lesson Learned, Mega Millions, Pretax, office pools, court ruling, lot

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19375 clicks; posted to Main » on 15 Mar 2012 at 11:15 AM | Favorite | share:

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Flint Ironstag		2012-03-15 08:48:58 AM

There was a case in the UK where the guy who ran a work syndicate bought a new car or something and a rumour started that he'd won the jackpot but hidden it. As much as he denied it he couldn't get them to accept he had not won.

ZAZ		2012-03-15 09:00:22 AM

As soon as you are revealed as a winner there's a lawyer out there with a plan. File a lawsuit against you, get a court order freezing lottery payments so you can't afford a lawyer of your own, then negotiate the extortion payment. All it takes is a winner who can't afford a lawyer on his own and other claimants who can. It works equally well whether the second claim is frivolous or genuine. A store owner in Massachusetts got money out of an old lady that way. She would have died before the case got through the courts, if she could afford to defend herself at all. The store owner lost his lottery license. Not sure if he ended up better off or worse in the long run.

Sybarite		2012-03-15 09:43:58 AM

serial_crusher		2012-03-15 10:35:45 AM

Every time I participated in one of those, the guy running the pool would email copies of the purchsed tickets to everyone in the pool. Would have been pretty easy case to solve had these guys done that.

Recoil Therapy		2012-03-15 10:48:05 AM

Something similar happened to one of my wife's coworkers a few years ago. Unlike this case though he was smart about buying group lottery tickets & personal ones at the same time (he didn't hit the jackpot but it was a decent sized amount). He bought the group's tickets, came in to work the next day & made a copy of the tickets & all the numbers & posted it for the group to see (this was a couple of days before the drawing). His numbers were on a different ticket & obviously his own personal picks. Other than some relatively good natured "we were so close..." grumbles from the office there was never any claims that the money was anyone's but his.

If Mr. Lopes did nothing to obviously & publicly separate the tickets & just relied on him telling his coworkers "no really, that ticket was mine. All these other numbers were yours" to protect himself then he does deserve to have to pay the others. It wouldn't have been hard to give a list of the group's numbers to the group (pre-drawing). If he had just done that there wouldn't be an issue here (or at least not one that couldn't be easily fought in court).

/of course as ZAZ said, there are scumbag lawyers (& other people) out there so even that may not have worked. It would have made it much easier to prove however

publikenemy		2012-03-15 11:20:33 AM

What's hilarious is that this guy already ran through 10 million out of the 22 total. If he can't account for it, he's going to jail..

www.smiteahippie.com

JNowe		2012-03-15 11:21:18 AM

serial_crusher: Every time I participated in one of those, the guy running the pool would email copies of the purchsed tickets to everyone in the pool. Would have been pretty easy case to solve had these guys done that.

We do that and we have an agreement not to buy personal tickets on drawings for which we have a pool.

trivial use of my dark powers		2012-03-15 11:22:49 AM

There's a reason greed is one of the seven deadlys.

Jerk.

Skr		2012-03-15 11:27:26 AM

If I was regularly pooling with coworkers... I'd be hard pressed not to give them *something* even if I did win the big jackpot with my own personal golden ticket.
I wouldn't really expect them to do the same, but nevertheless they'd get a good years wage out of it at least.

dennysgod		2012-03-15 11:29:50 AM

Let's review.

This is HA HA Guy:

www.hetemeel.com

This is Nelson:

farm3.staticflickr.com

Know you meme

lennavan		2012-03-15 11:31:01 AM

ELIZABETH, N.J. (AP) - A jury has found that a New Jersey man who cheated five co-workers out of their share of a lottery jackpot must pay them $2 million each.

Americo Lopes worked at a construction company in Elizabeth and began a lottery pool in 2007. He claimed the winning numbers for a 2009 jackpot worth $38.5 million were on a personal ticket and not the ticket that he had bought for the pool.

A jury disagreed Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for the Superior Court in Elizabeth says each of the five plaintiffs is now entitled to a pre-tax payment of $2 million from the lottery winnings.

5 coworkers 2 million each to split a near $40 million jackpot.

I'm no mathicist but something seems off here. Did this douche put in more money than the rest of them or what?

moops		2012-03-15 11:31:22 AM

i want this for my house

farm1.static.flickr.com

kagemaru026		2012-03-15 11:32:46 AM

publikenemy		2012-03-15 11:33:51 AM

dennysgod: Let's review.

This is HA HA Guy:

[www.hetemeel.com image 600x431]

This is Nelson:

[farm3.staticflickr.com image

Know you meme

Thats why I don't follow meme's...Nelson will always be ha ha guy to me. Even on fark

chopit		2012-03-15 11:34:56 AM

lennavan: I'm no mathicist but something seems off here.

$24M cash payout/6=$4 mil each, court gave them half of that. Don't know why only half, but I'd take it.

JNowe		2012-03-15 11:36:06 AM

chopit: lennavan: I'm no mathicist but something seems off here.

$24M cash payout/6=$4 mil each, court gave them half of that. Don't know why only half, but I'd take it.

Taxes?

Evil Kirk vs Bad Ash		2012-03-15 11:36:06 AM

If I won the lotto I'd give it away to so many friends, family, co-workers, and businesses I love I'm sure I'd end up with just enough to build my stupid starship and pretty much nothing else. Then again, I'm a minimalist so it would be pretty easy.

I'm also delusional in that if I was a pro athlete I'd ask for the league minimum every year, especially if I was good.

/stupid hopes for humanity.

boogie_down		2012-03-15 11:36:48 AM

publikenemy: dennysgod: Let's review.

This is HA HA Guy:

[www.hetemeel.com image 600x431]

This is Nelson:

[farm3.staticflickr.com image

Know you meme

Thats why I don't follow meme's...Nelson will always be ha ha guy to me. Even on fark

images.cheezburger.com

ZAZ		2012-03-15 11:37:47 AM

From the Star-Ledger article: Each was awarded $4 million, or about $2 million after taxes and attorneys' fees.

theorellior		2012-03-15 11:38:06 AM

I can haz new Grey Wave?

Derek Force		2012-03-15 11:38:30 AM

As the guy who runs the lottery pool for my work, I'm getting a kick...

I'm with a few posters above... I scan a copy of the tickets for the work pool, which includes the complete list of the 20 people who are in the pool, then email them to the 20 people. Every time. Every drawing.

There is no confusion if me or the wife happen to get a ticket for us.

/we only play at work when jackpot is above $100mil.
//F U powerball for raising to $2 a ticket. (and WTF, powerball = $4. powerball + 1 number = $4. really? jackasses.)

honk		2012-03-15 11:38:32 AM

Sounds like, if the guy really was swindling his co-workers, he got away with most of it.

Yes, Virginia, crime really does pay.

Fireproof		2012-03-15 11:41:16 AM

Fireproof		2012-03-15 11:43:01 AM

hailin		2012-03-15 11:47:11 AM

If you are in a lotto pool and DON'T get a scanned copy of the tickets purchased before the big lotto draw you are a fool.

GungFu		2012-03-15 11:47:41 AM

Yayy!!

I get to be the first to mention 'Lottery: Idiot Tax' on a Fark thread!

HAHA Idiot Tax! You're an idiot lottery player.

/do I win anything?

lacrossestar83		2012-03-15 11:49:42 AM

This is why socialism is bad!

ihatedumbpeople		2012-03-15 11:49:50 AM

lennavan: ELIZABETH, N.J. (AP) - A jury has found that a New Jersey man who cheated five co-workers out of their share of a lottery jackpot must pay them $2 million each.

Americo Lopes worked at a construction company in Elizabeth and began a lottery pool in 2007. He claimed the winning numbers for a 2009 jackpot worth $38.5 million were on a personal ticket and not the ticket that he had bought for the pool.

A jury disagreed Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for the Superior Court in Elizabeth says each of the five plaintiffs is now entitled to a pre-tax payment of $2 million from the lottery winnings.

5 coworkers 2 million each to split a near $40 million jackpot.

I'm no mathicist but something seems off here. Did this douche put in more money than the rest of them or what?

taxes take up about 50% of that $40 mil. after that, sounds like he blew much of the rest already.

Silverstaff		2012-03-15 11:50:19 AM

publikenemy: Thats why I don't follow meme's...Nelson will always be ha ha guy to me. Even on fark

I immediately thought of Nelson going Ha Ha too.

Seemed much more appropriate than the laughing Quaker guy.

EnderX		2012-03-15 11:50:39 AM

publikenemy: What's hilarious is that this guy already ran through 10 million out of the 22 total. If he can't account for it, he's going to jail..

[www.smiteahippie.com image 400x373]

WOW! how much does foot surgery cost!!???

Felgraf		2012-03-15 11:51:18 AM

Evil Kirk vs Bad Ash: If I won the lotto I'd give it away to so many friends, family, co-workers, and businesses I love I'm sure I'd end up with just enough to build my stupid starship and pretty much nothing else. Then again, I'm a minimalist so it would be pretty easy.

I'm also delusional in that if I was a pro athlete I'd ask for the league minimum every year, especially if I was good.

/stupid hopes for humanity.

No worries, I've got a plan myself of, if I win the lottery, to help a friend's startup idea and another secure the resources to build a children's camp (She's a really, really good camp director who would love to branch out on her own sometime).

Hooray faith in humanity/cynical optimism.

offmymeds		2012-03-15 11:54:45 AM

Zoomaster		2012-03-15 11:55:20 AM

/second guy needed to be cued
//not just Ha Ha guy

Six Demon Bag		2012-03-15 11:56:50 AM

ihatedumbpeople: lennavan: ELIZABETH, N.J. (AP) - A jury has found that a New Jersey man who cheated five co-workers out of their share of a lottery jackpot must pay them $2 million each.

Americo Lopes worked at a construction company in Elizabeth and began a lottery pool in 2007. He claimed the winning numbers for a 2009 jackpot worth $38.5 million were on a personal ticket and not the ticket that he had bought for the pool.

A jury disagreed Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for the Superior Court in Elizabeth says each of the five plaintiffs is now entitled to a pre-tax payment of $2 million from the lottery winnings.

5 coworkers 2 million each to split a near $40 million jackpot.

I'm no mathicist but something seems off here. Did this douche put in more money than the rest of them or what?

taxes take up about 50% of that $40 mil. after that, sounds like he blew much of the rest already.

There's an additional penalty applied for a lump-sum payment. The $40 mil figure is almost certainly the annuity figure.

lennavan		2012-03-15 11:57:57 AM

JNowe: chopit: lennavan: I'm no mathicist but something seems off here.

$24M cash payout/6=$4 mil each, court gave them half of that. Don't know why only half, but I'd take it.

Taxes?

ihatedumbpeople: taxes take up about 50% of that $40 mil. after that, sounds like he blew much of the rest already.

Nah, it said 2 mil pre-tax. Who cares if he blew the rest, make him sell the house and whatnot. It should have been $4 mil each pre-tax, not $2 mil.

four95		2012-03-15 11:58:11 AM

lennavan		2012-03-15 11:59:17 AM

Six Demon Bag: There's an additional penalty applied for a lump-sum payment. The $40 mil figure is almost certainly the annuity figure.

Right. For some reason I have it stuck in my head that after taxes and the penalty you end up with about half. Maybe I have that number wrong and that's the discrepancy.

Gunderson		2012-03-15 11:59:18 AM

This is why I don't go into lottery pools. You are entering into a mostly oral contract with a bunch of people that may/may not be trustworthy. Just buy your own damn tickets and not have to worry about greedy schmoos.

/doesn't enter football pools, office donations, go in a group for a birthday present, etc.

jolt_man		2012-03-15 12:00:34 PM

Heh, nice to see the HA HA guy back in action.

A guy at my work tried to do this. Problem was, he never "Paid out" any of the winnings, he just kept rolling them into the next draw. People stopped playing because we were dropping $5 a week into it, hearing our numbers won like $75 bucks or something, then being told we weren't going to get that money, and we had to give another $5.

Mentat		2012-03-15 12:01:43 PM

Zoomaster		2012-03-15 12:04:20 PM

Derek Force: As the guy who runs the lottery pool for my work, I'm getting a kick...

I'm with a few posters above... I scan a copy of the tickets for the work pool, which includes the complete list of the 20 people who are in the pool, then email them to the 20 people. Every time. Every drawing.

There is no confusion if me or the wife happen to get a ticket for us.

/we only play at work when jackpot is above $100mil.
//F U powerball for raising to $2 a ticket. (and WTF, powerball = $4. powerball + 1 number = $4. really? jackasses.)

============

I get one ticket when the jackpot goes over 100 mil, two tickets when over 200 mil. three when over 300 mil.

/idiot tax or not
//I can afford $20 - $30 a year
///can't win if you don't play

NationalHero		2012-03-15 12:04:21 PM

I never seem to win the lottery.

four95		2012-03-15 12:04:50 PM

Gunderson: This is why I don't go into lottery pools. You are entering into a mostly oral contract with a bunch of people that may/may not be trustworthy. Just buy your own damn tickets and not have to worry about greedy schmoos.

/doesn't enter football pools, office donations, go in a group for a birthday present, etc.

Wanna know how I know they call you the cheap one?

QuinnTheFetus		2012-03-15 12:05:11 PM

Wise_Guy		2012-03-15 12:05:49 PM

algrant33		2012-03-15 12:09:43 PM

lennavan: Six Demon Bag: There's an additional penalty applied for a lump-sum payment. The $40 mil figure is almost certainly the annuity figure.

Right. For some reason I have it stuck in my head that after taxes and the penalty you end up with about half. Maybe I have that number wrong and that's the discrepancy.

The published figure is the projected yield of the annuity. If you "take the prize over 30 years" the lottery association buys you an annuity with the winnings pre-tax; then you're taxed on the proceeds from that annuity each year. If you "take the cash" then the lottery association pays you the cash winnings they would have used to purchase the annuity.

There's no "penalty" associated with taking the cash. It makes no difference to the lottery which one you choose. In terms of present value, you take home the same amount either way. Now, in terms of TAXES...between the IRS and the state, they're going to withhold about 40% of your winnings when they make the cash payout; it's up to your CPA to find deductions to get as much of that back as possible.

Gunderson		2012-03-15 12:10:11 PM

four95: Gunderson: This is why I don't go into lottery pools. You are entering into a mostly oral contract with a bunch of people that may/may not be trustworthy. Just buy your own damn tickets and not have to worry about greedy schmoos.

/doesn't enter football pools, office donations, go in a group for a birthday present, etc.

Wanna know how I know they call you the cheap one?

Not cheap. If I want to get some a birthday present, flowers. etc. I just go out and get them it.

offmymeds		2012-03-15 12:10:47 PM

BRING BACK FULL-COLOR HA-HA GUY!!11!!!

No Such Agency		2012-03-15 12:14:32 PM

jolt_man:
Heh, nice to see the HA HA guy back in action.

A guy at my work tried to do this. Problem was, he never "Paid out" any of the winnings, he just kept rolling them into the next draw. People stopped playing because we were dropping $5 a week into it, hearing our numbers won like $75 bucks or something, then being told we weren't going to get that money, and we had to give another $5.

Sounds like he "rolled them" right into his substance abuse habit or something. It's not hard to run a lottery pool on the up and up, as several posters here have mentioned.

Also: