A man killed his new wife, their one-year-old daughter, and himself in a double murder-suicide after she won $2 million in the California lottery.
The family lawyer said the $2 million payout was a "source of conflict" in John Donato and Tiffani Hill's brief marriage.
Authorities said Hill, 31, was a victim of domestic violence. She was living in California in November 2020 when she won $2 million from a scratch off ticket.
A few months later, she married Donato and the family moved to Oklahoma.
Police say Donato, 42, fatally shot Hill and their daughter, 23-month-old daughter, Leanne Donato, before turning the gun on himself at their new home in Calera, Oklahoma on July 30.
Hill's three older children, ages 7, 9 and 11, were in the home when the murder-suicide occurred but they were unharmed.
The FBI is leading the investigation into the double murder-suicide because it took place on tribal land. Hill was a registered member of the Choctaw Nation, according to SFgate.com.
Hill's sister, Jamie Kern, created a GoFundMe page to help bring the three surviving children back home to California.
Hill's lottery winnings will be placed in a trust for the surviving children.
A New York attorney has been indicted on charges of defrauding three lottery winners out of $107 million.
The criminal indictment unsealed on Tuesday alleges Jason Kurland promoted himself as the go-to attorney for lottery winners to protect them from scammers and misspending their winnings.
Kurland promoted himself as a "Lottery Lawyer" and he often tweeted lottery winners with the hashtag: #call me.
In one YouTube video, Kurland is seen in his office with large replicas of lottery checks on his desk.
"I protect the ones that are going to spend too much and I try to teach the other ones how to be a wealthy person," Kurland said in an interview on web series, "Going In with Brian Vines."
But the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York alleges Kurland, 46, defrauded his clients out of $107 million in lottery money.
Kurland allegedly involved known mob associates in his scheme to defraud lottery winners.
One of Kurland's alleged partners is Christopher Chierchio, 52, a known soldier for the Genovese crime family, according to the indictment.
"The defendants callously thought they could line their pockets with lottery winnings without consequence, but today their luck ran out," said Seth D. DuCharme, the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, in a news release.
According to the indictment, Kurland charged his clients an upfront retainer fee of between $75,000 and $200,000. Additionally, he required a monthly fee of between $15,000 and $50,000.
Prosecutors say three of his clients collectively won an estimated $3 billion - including a South Carolina man who won last year's Mega Million jackpot worth $1.5 billion.
After gaining his clients' trust by making investments, prosecutors allege Kurland convinced them to invest their money in companies run by mob associates and co-conspirators Chierchio, Francis Smookler, 45, and Frangesco Russo, 38.
Prosecutors say the defendants used the money to bankroll a lavish lifestyle. They used the cash to pay for expensive vacations, golf club memberships, private jets, luxury homes and cars, yachts, and shopping sprees for their wives and mistresses.
Most of the $107 million can not be recovered, according to the indictment.
All four defendants pleaded not guilty in the Brooklyn court on Tuesday.
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An Arkansas waitress plans to take legal action against a co-worker for stealing her half of a $300,000 scratch-off lottery jackpot.
Leslie Underwood told KARK-TV that she and a co-worker, Mandy Vanhouten, were working at Sportsmans Drive-In when their boss, ironically named Lucky, gave them scratch-off Lottery tickets in lieu of holiday bonuses.
"He told us whatever we won, it would be split between us for our Christmas bonus," she said.
Craigory Burch Jr., who won $434,272 in a Fantasy 5 drawing in November, was shot and killed when intruders broke into his home in Fitzgerald, GA. on Thursday.
Three winners from Florida, Tennessee and California will share the record-breaking $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot -- the biggest jackpot in U.S. lottery history.
Lottery officials confirmed three tickets matched all six winning numbers -- 08, 27, 34, 04, 19, and the Powerball, 10.
The $1.6 billion jackpot will be chopped down to $930 million if the winners choose the lump sum option. From there the three winners will each take home a check for $187 million after taxes.
Fontella Marie Holmes, the single mother who won $188 million in the Brunswick County (NC) Powerball Lottery, paid $6 million to bail her drug dealer boyfriend out of jail again.
Sharon Tirabassi is a generous soul. So generous that she gave away half of her $10.5 million Lotto Super 7 winnings and blew through the rest.
Today, the 35-year-old "penniless millionaire" rides the bus to work and struggles to make ends meet until her next paycheck.
Nine years ago, Tirabassi, of Hamilton, Ontario Canada, cashed in her winning Powerball ticket and collected $10,569,000.10.
At first Tirabassi and her then-boyfriend, Vinny, also 35, were ecstatic at their good fortune. They shared the wealth with family and close friends, lavishing their loved ones with gifts, cash, cars, and exotic trips. She gave her parents $1 million cash and divided another $1.75 million among her siblings.
