Lottery players frequently organize themselves in syndicates and pool money together to increase their chance of winning the jackpot without spending a fortune on tickets. As long as the rules are clear and the procedures are straightforward, there is little that can go wrong and everyone benefits from such a lottery group. For the workers at the Lawrence beauty salon, this was not the case as the former colleagues are now divided and accuse one of their own of trying to rob them of their prize. Marion Superior Court Judge Heather Welch will give the verdict on Monday after several months of bitter conflict.
$9 million lottery jackpot dispute
The stakes couldn’t be higher as the former beauty salon workers are fighting over $9 million, an amount that Christina “Christy” Shaw tries to claim for herself. She was the one to cash in the winning ticket, but her colleagues accuse her of buying it with money from the lottery group, therefore it is not hers to claim. The media have been monitoring this scandal closely but so far the information transpiring is inconclusive and none of the parties are willing to make compromises.
For many months, the lottery group had been buying lottery tickets and it looks like each time, someone else was in charge of buying them. Her former co-workers also claim that the members of the syndicate agreed that buying tickets for the groups was supposed to be done at a different location if the one responsible intended to buy some tickets for herself. In the absence of any written rule, it is not very easy to prove the existence of such a regulation and that’s what the judges will need to decide on Monday.
Lottery winnings frozen until the court decides
Until the matter will be settled in a court of law, lottery officials will not release the amount and that’s why everyone hopes in a quick resolution. Shaw will try to prove that the lottery group had no such rules preventing members from buying personal tickets at the same venue and cites past actions as proof. The winning ticket was bought on February 16, but it looks like this is not the first time members broke the unwritten rule by purchasing their own tickets at the same venue.
Another sensitive issue is proving that the numbers chosen by Shaw were in fact ones that bear a special meaning to her, hence the ticket was a personal one. Back then the winning numbers were 5, 8, 17, 21, 23 and the Powerball 33 and some of them are the birthdays of close relatives, while the lottery tickets purchased for the group were all using Quick Pick numbers. Only time will tell whether Shaw will end up with all the money or if the judge will decide in favor of the lottery group.
Check out the Hair stylists lottery group fight over lottery winning ticket as well.
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!
