What are the odds of a dead person winning the lottery? Zero, you may say? You’re wrong! Actually, dead people have bin winning the lottery all over the place in New Jersey.
Now sit down and relax, your theory that paranormal activity does exist isn’t being proven by this article. We’re simply speaking about a brand new scam in which the social security numbers of dead people are being used to claim lottery winnings. Some people are ready to do just about anything for money!
I can See Dead People… and They’re Winning the Lottery!
A new state audit in New Jersey has found out that numerous grannies and grandpas that had passed away were actually coming back to enter lottery draws and win serious amounts of money. It wasn’t exactly happening this way but you get the picture.
And if you’re already tired of our dark humor, here’s the scoop.
The scam has happened since the lottery only checks the names and social security numbers of individuals that earn more than 250,000 dollars. Everybody else gets a free pass and an opportunity to give IRS the finger found right in the middle of the hand.
After an internal audit, the state found out that various sums had been paid out to 46 deceased individuals! By using this scam and other fraud tactics, numerous crafty people had avoided giving the state an amount of approximately 300,000 dollars.
It’s a Dark, Dark Lottery World
The scam is real but there also happen to be stories of people who won the lottery after they died and people that died because of the lottery. It’s getting confusing so we’re going to break it up.
There have been stories in all parts of the world about people that died shortly before their relatives found out that they won the lottery or shortly after learning the news.
A man from Indiana got run over by truck just hours after he found out that he won more than 73,000 dollars. The man actually participated in a TV taping related to his win, after which he was hit by a truck that rounded a corner without seeing the pedestrian.
People have also died because of their poor luck and excessive desire to win the lottery. In 1995, a man committed suicide because he believed that the numbers he usually played with were drawn during a week when he didn’t buy a ticket. Actually, his belief was wrong – only four of the six numbers were drawn. Those four numbers would have resulted in a lottery prize of 47 pounds rather than the jackpot of 3.2 million pounds that the man committed suicide over.
The Lottery Death Curse?
Just to end the story on an even more macabre note, some actually believe that lottery winners are all the victims of a major death curse that cuts their lives short. Whether you believe in such things or not, the list goes on and on.
A Florida man who won a 30-million dollar jackpot was murdered four years later. A 47-year old woman that got the big bucks in Ohio was run over by a car. Factory worker Dennis Elwell committed suicide just seven months after winning 92,000 pounds from the UK National Lottery.
Such stories have been told for more than a century. In many of these stories, something truly horrible seems to happen to the vast majority of individuals that win any five-digit sum. Urban legends? An actual curse? The proof that money doesn’t bring happiness? Or maybe simply a case of the grapes being sour? Guess that the answer to this question depends entirely on your point of view.
So, what’s the morale of the story?
Number one; don’t attempt to use the social security number of a dead person in order to avoid taxes. Chances are that IRS will sooner or later knock on your door.
Number two; don’t put it all on winning the lottery since the jackpot doesn’t make you immune from disasters.
Number three; don’t believe in everything that you hear. Yep, some lottery winners have died. But guess what – so have many people that didn’t win the lottery. If you’re an enthusiast and you hope to win the jackpot one day, you should most definitely keep on trying. And may the force be with you!
About Jonathan White
Hi, my name is Johnathan and you can find me on Google+. I`m a freelance writer and one of the team of talented and faithful LotteryPros.com and LotteryCrunch.com contributors. Lottery is my hobby, inspiration and a favorite subject to write about. I do hope that my sincere posts will help you to become more rich and successful. Stay tuned!
