Mirlande Wilson, McDonald's Worker, Claims Mega Millions Winning Ticket Was Not Paid For By Co-Workers
The Huffington Post
By Tara Kelly
4/ 2/2012
Following last week's Mega Millions buzz, the mood has shifted from excitement to fury over Maryland's unclaimed winning ticket.
Mirlande Wilson, an employee at a Maryland McDonald’s, claims she holds a winning ticket, which would make her one of three winners of Friday's record-high $640 million jackpot, reports the New York Post.
But Wilson's coworkers allege that her ticket was part of a lottery pool, and that she must share the wealth.
37-year-old Wilson told the New York Post that although she did take part in the pool, she bought the winning ticket on her own. Another person who took part in the pool refutes Wilson's claim and says Wilson was given additional money late Friday night to buy extra lottery tickets before the Mega Millions drawing.
Wilson has yet to claim her prize.
Three winners hailing from Kansas, Illinois and Maryland were drawn on Friday and will split the historic $656 million payout, notes ABC News. No winners have yet been identified.
If Wilson is indeed a winner, she'll be able to choose between receiving her prize in 26 yearly payments totaling $218.6 million or a one-time lump sum of $157.8 million.
Maryland lottery communications director, Carole Everett, told ABC News that there is no evidence that Wilson's story is true.
"There's nothing to substantiate anything," Everett told ABC. "It's probably not this person."
This isn't the first time an office Mega Millions pool has lead to mega mayhem.
Americo Lopes, a New Jersey resident and winner of a $38.5 million lottery jackpot, was sued by five co-workers who accused him of not sharing his earnings after the six men had pooled money to buy lottery tickets. Last month, a jury ordered Lopes to share his winnings with the five men.
Mega-millions winner won't share prize
Yahoo!7 & Yahoo! New Zealand
April 3, 2012
One of the winners of last week's $US640 million Mega Millions jackpot will not share the prize with her co-workers despite the group being in a syndicate together.
Mirlande Wilson says she purchased the winning ticket – now worth more than $US100 million – with her own money while also buying tickets for the syndicate she is in with her co-workers.
The syndicate is made up of 14 people who earn around seven US dollars an hour working for McDonalds.
CCTV footage reportedly shows the ticket being purchased from a nearby convenience store at around the same time Ms Wilson was sent by her co-workers to buy their tickets.
The co-workers are now demanding she split the winnings.
One of the workers is said to have warned Ms Wilson about her decision. "These people are going to kill you. It's not worth your life", he reportedly told her.
But the lucky winner, a Haitian immigrant and mother of seven, is remaining defiant.
"The winning ticket was a separate ticket”, she told The New York Post.
Americans spent the equivalent of five dollars for every single person in the country on last week's huge lottery draw.
Millions of people tuned in to the live draw, with all but three ticket holders walking away virtually empty handed. Ms Wilson is said to have called the store where she works shouting "I’ve won! I’ve won!", after the draw.
