Hot news in the USA and all over the internet is about the claim on a $14.3 million lotto jackpot in Iowa has been withdrawn by the lawyer who says he represents a company based Belize that possessed the ticket. The $14.3US million dollar win is being left untouched because the winner does not want to reveal his/her identity!
The winning Hot Lotto ticket was purchased in December of 2010 at a Des Moines Quik Trip. Then on December 29th of last year, a New York lawyer came forward with the winning ticket two hours before the prize would have been forfeited the attorney, Crawford Shaw, signed the ticket on behalf of a trust, Hexham Investments. When Shaw tried to collect on behalf of his client, the lottery said it needed to know the winner’s name and details on where the ticket had been for the last year.
Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich says, “The question is ‘What the hell?’ what is going on here. From the beginning we knew it was a unique case.” Shaw was given a deadline of 3:00 p.m. Friday, January 27 to give the lotto that info. But on Thursday, January 26, 2012, Crawford Shaw informed the lottery that Hexham Investments was withdrawing its claim on the ticket, identified the recipient only as a corporation in the country of Belize and was surrendering millions of dollars in winnings.
Terry Rich says this case proves that state laws designed to make sure the right person gets the money really work. Attorneys representing Hexham Investments asked the money be given to charity, but state law requires it to be put in an unclaimed ticket fund to be paid out in later drawings.
“This has been and continues to be the strangest situation that we can recall in the 26-year history of our lottery,” Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich said.
The New York Post points out that the recent lottery incident isn’t the first time Shaw’s character has been questioned. In addition to being involved in lawsuits alleging fraud in Delaware and Texas in the past, records also show Shaw had a least a minor part in the collapse of a chemical company that was looted and bankrupted by a stock manipulation scheme.
The mystery behind the Belizean Company still remains unsolved and further investigations continue. Why does this person not want his identity known? Makes you wonder?
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