In an unexpected twist, a court has ordered a woman to give her £1 million lottery winnings to the man she was divorcing. Denise Rossi from California filed for divorce from her husband of 25 years just days after winning the lottery.
Despite winning a $1.3 million prize, she chose not to inform her then-husband. Years later, her ex-husband, Thomas, discovered the truth when he found a letter detailing lump sum payments for lottery winners, which led to the court’s ruling.
A letter sent to Denise Rossi outlined a service that helps lottery winners receive a lump-sum payment in exchange for their scheduled lottery installments. This discovery prompted her ex-husband, Thomas, to take legal action. The court found that Denise had secretly redirected the winning check to her mother’s address. When questioned, Denise admitted that the lottery win presented an opportune moment to leave a marriage she had wanted to end for years.
Thomas told People Magazine that he was shocked and confused by Denise’s sudden urgency for him to leave their home, which was unlike her. The judge ruled in Thomas’s favor, ordering Denise to compensate him with 20 yearly payments of $66,800 (£52,600), totaling the entire sum of her lottery winnings.
Denise Rossi’s attorney, Connolly Oyler, suggested that if she had been honest about her lottery winnings, she might have been able to keep them. He believed he could have argued that the winnings were her personal property or negotiated a settlement. However, feeling deceived, the judge awarded the entire amount to her ex-husband.
Lottery winnings have frequently led to family conflicts, such as a case in Australia where a 92-year-old man sued his daughter, claiming she pressured him into sharing his lottery prize.
Lotteries can indeed pose unexpected challenges, from family disputes to the logistics of claiming a prize. For example, the National Lottery told LADbible about a Powerball winner who has yet to claim a £500,000 prize from the previous year. This serves as a reminder to double-check any old lottery tickets and visit the official lottery website, as you might be the unclaimed winner.