Black Man Allegedly Lost a $347M Lottery Win. Now, He’s Suing

It’s not every day that $340 million falls into your lap. And if it does, you’re definitely not giving it up without a fight. Just ask John Cheeks, who got the surprise of a lifetime in January 2023 when he saw that the winning DC Lottery numbers posted online matched the numbers on his ticket.

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Following a close friend’s advice, he took a picture of the winning numbers on his computer screen for reference. Cheeks said the numbers remained on the lottery website for three days after the drawing. But as he tried to claim his $340 million prize money, he was told he was not a winner after all and that numbers online were posted by mistake. Now, Cheeks is asking the courts to help him get his money, suing Powerball, DC lottery and others for the $340 million jackpot and interest earned.

Taoti Enterprises, a lottery contractor who is named in the suit, says it accidentally posted the wrong winning numbers online as part of a test. The company, which manages the DC lottery website added that the numbers on Mr. Cheeks’ ticket could not have been the same from the Jan. 7 on-air drawing because they were posted online the day before.

But Cheeks’ attorney, Richard W. Evans, told NPR that the suit is about “the reliability of institutions that promise life-changing opportunities while heavily profiting in the process.”

He went on to compare Mr. Cheeks’ situation to a November 2023 incident in Iowa when lottery contractors accidentally posted the wrong winning numbers online for several hours. Players with “winning” tickets were allowed to collect their prizes between $4 and $200 before the mistake was corrected online later that day.

For his part, Cheeks just wants the money he believes he won fair and square.

“You know, we have to create fairness in the game. A win is a win,” he said. “I’m just a customer who purchased those tickets. That’s all.”