CHECKS OUT
‘No one knows to do that’ lottery winner fumes after she’s told she can’t collect prize – they said she owed them money
The lottery winner revealed how a mistake made by the state years ago came back to haunt her
A LOTTERY winner had to fight for her prize after being told it would immediately be taken away due to a mistake made by the state.
Precious Tanksley from Orlando, Florida, was overjoyed to learn that she had won $830 on a Pick 5 game last month.
4
4
However, her happiness was short-lived after being told that she would not see a cent of the prize money.
When Tanksley went to claim her money, she was told that as she owed the state money due to an overpayment, so the prize would go toward paying off this debt instead.
"I could not walk away. I was stumbling away from the window because I was in shock," she told local CBS affiliate WKMG earlier this month.
"What do you mean I owe you money? I don't owe you anything, especially from the [Department of Economic Opportunity]."
read more on lottery wins
During the pandemic, Tanksley received unemployment benefits, which she continued collecting after finding a job.
The state overpaid her by more than $11,000 that had gone into her unemployment account last year.
Once she started work, Tanksley says that she stopped checking it and so failed to notice the mistake.
"I didn't know anything, I didn't even know about a waiver," she told the news outlet.
Most read in The US Sun
While helping Tanksley get her winnings back, the WKMG team discovered that a waiver had been issued last year regarding the overpayment.
A notice of approval was sent in February 2023 stating that the "overpayment...is waived."
Lottery warning to check numbers for unclaimed Powerball jackpot worth $842 million and it was bought at a supermarket
"The evidence furnished meets the requirements of the law that the overpayment ... was received without fault and recover would be against equity and good conscience," the letter stated.
However, this was ignored when Tanksley was told by a Florida Commerce employee that she would have to pay back all of her prize money.
Then, once the waiver was confirmed, she was told to wait four to six weeks to see her money.
It took the WKMG team to step in once more for Tanksley to get her money within a week.
Top lottery winners in the US
Millions dream of winning the lottery and finding fame and fortune. These are the biggest winners in US lottery history.
- Edwin Castro - $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 8, 2022, in California.
- Theodorus Struyck - $1.765 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, in California.
- Unknown winner - $1.602 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, in Florida.
- Marvin and Mae Acosta from Los Angeles, California, John and Lisa Robinson from Munford, Tennessee, and Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt from Melbourne Beach, Florida - $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016.
- Unknown winner - $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, from South Carolina.
- Unknown winner - he sued the mother of his child to keep his identity hidden - $1.348 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, from Maine.
- Unknown winner - $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, from Illinois.
- Cheng and Duanpen Saephan, and Laiza Liem Chao - $1.326 billion, Powerball, April 7, 2024, from Oregon.
- Yanira Alvarez - $1.08 billion Powerball, July 19, 2023 in California.
- Wolverine FLL Lottery Club - $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021, from Michigan.
- Unknown winner - $842.4 million Powerball, Jan. 1, 2024, from Michigan.
"It feels amazing," she said as she praised the team's "instant results."
However, Tanksley added that the state could have prevented the mess following her win by telling her to regularly check her unemployment account.
"No one knows to do that," she said.
"So you're going to win, you're going to get [to the lottery office] and then they're going to take your money, and wait the four to six weeks if you don't have help."
The U.S. Sun previously reported on a similar story of Bob Calamatia who was told he could not collect his $600 lottery winnings because he owed the state $3,000.
Again, this was linked to unemployment benefits paid during the pandemic but Calamita was adamant saying, "If I owed money, I would have paid it."
The U.S. Sun has reached out to the Florida Lottery and the Florida Department of Commerce for comment.
The Florida Lottery issued the following statement in response to our inquiries:
"The Florida Lottery properly withholds money from lottery winners who have unpaid state-owed debts, such as overpayments for reemployment assistance, in accordance with Section 24.115(4) of the Florida Statutes.
"State and federal Reemployment Assistance overpayments occur when claimants receive benefits, they were not eligible to receive due to a variety of factors.
"When the Florida Department of Commerce determines that an overpayment has occurred on a reemployment assistance claim, claimants are notified based on their preferred correspondence method.
"From there, claimants have the options to request an overpayment waiver, appeal, or repay an overpayment.
Read More on The US Sun
"To prevent the possibility of their lottery winnings being withheld, claimants are strongly advised to keep a close eye on their accounts, ensure their preferred contact information is up-to-date, and promptly respond to any alerts related to their claim(s)."
Readers were also urged by the lottery to visit the Florida Overpayments page.
4
4