Ore. woman loses her $1 million jackpot

by René | August 10, 2007 at 04:17 pm
472 views | 20 Recommendations | 1 comment

Crime does not always pay.

MEDFORD, Ore. — A judge ruled that a woman who used a stolen credit card to buy a winning scratch-it ticket has no right to the $1 million prize.

Jackson County Judge Ray White ruled Thursday that the winnings were the proceeds of illegal activity and must be forfeited under Oregon law.

Prosecutors say Christina Goodenow of White City used a credit card that belonged to her then-boyfriend's dead mother to buy the lucky lottery ticket at a market in Central Point in October 2005.

Goodenow asked lottery officials to keep her win quiet, claiming to be a victim of domestic violence. But police learned of the crime about two weeks later as Goodenow continued to use the stolen credit card.

The Oregon Lottery had already paid Goodenow $33,500, the first of 20 annual payouts. She spent the majority of the money, including a big chunk that went to pay off nearly $12,000 owed on the credit card.

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Jordan Yerman
Jordan Yerman
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 09:22 on August 11th, 2007

That's some expensive karma...

This story was created over 3 months ago, the comment thread is now closed.

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