A Washington, D.C. man is suing Powerball and the D.C. Lottery for refusing to pay him $340 million, despite his lottery ticket matching the winning numbers.
John Cheeks, 60, purchased a lottery ticket on January 6, 2023, from a licensed retailer, according to the lawsuit.
When he checked the D.C. Lottery website the following morning, he saw that the numbers on his ticket matched the winning Powerball ticket worth $340 million.
Cheeks met with financial advisors before redeeming his ticket, he said.
But when he attempted to redeem the prize, he was told his ticket wasn’t a winner.
Lottery officials told Cheeks, although his ticket matched the numbers on the D.C. Lottery website, the numbers in the live drawing were different.
For three days, the D.C. Lottery website showed the same winning numbers as the numbers on Cheeks’s ticket.
However, by Jan. 10, 2023, the numbers on the website had changed, according to the lawsuit.
The D.C. Lottery said the numbers posted on the website were a mistake, and the error was fixed.
Cheeks told USA Today that a D.C. Lottery official told him to throw his ticket “in the trash can,” according to a lawsuit filed in November 2023.
The lawsuit accuses Powerball and the D.C. Lottery of “unlawful collusion” to deprive Cheeks of his winnings.
“This is not merely about numbers on a website; it’s about the reliability of institutions that promise life-changing opportunities, while heavily profiting in the process,” Rick Evans, Cheeks’ attorney, told USA TODAY.
“We intend to collect every penny to which (Mr. Cheeks) is entitled to right this wrong.”
