Man who won more than £1.35bn being sued by his family for 'not sharing winnings'

Wednesday, May 15, 2024 - A Mega Millions jackpot winner is facing a lawsuit from his family for allegedly refusing to share his whopping $1.35billion fortune.

The lucky man, known only as John Doe in court documents, beat the staggering odds of 1 in 302.6 million to bag the $1.35billion jackpot, making it the second-largest Mega Millions win ever and the fourth-largest in US history.

He took home $500million after taxes.

However, drama began when he sued the mother of his daughter, named as Sara Smith in legal papers, accusing her of breaching a non-disclosure agreement by spilling the beans about his win to his family.

However, new court documents suggest it might have been Doe himself who told his family about his winnings.

In the latest twist, Smith's lawyers argue that Doe told his father and stepmother about his lottery windfall of his own accord, undermining his claim she was the one who revealed his secret.

In a sworn affidavit, Doe's father revealed that Doe had visited the family home and informed them about his lottery win. In the affidavit, Doe's father criticises Doe for not keeping his alleged promises to use some if his winnings to help them.

Doe confessed he had spoken to his father and stepmother about the money, and added their relationship deteriorated soon after.

His father hit back, accusing his son of dishonesty on several matters since the huge lottery win.

His statement reads: "In February or March of 2023, my son came to my house in [REDACTED], and told me and my wife that he had won a large sum of money in the Maine State Lottery.

"He promised to build me a garage and buy me some cars to restore. He knew I used to enjoy working on and restoring old cars. He also said he wanted to buy us the house where he lived with me and his mother (my previous wife) when he was a child.

"He said, 'Find out what they want for it, and I'll pay double,' or words to that effect. This is not something my current wife and I wanted to do."

The father claims his son pledged to establish a $1million trust fund that would provide him with a monthly income and ensure he receives at-home nursing care for the rest of his life.

He stated his son had demanded that neither he nor his stepmother maintain any contact with Smith.

Doe's father said: "Smith is the mother of our grandchild and we have had a good relationship with her over the years. I thought she was a good mother and we did not want to turn our back on her as he insisted."

After challenging his son about his altered behaviour, the father revealed his son "became irate, branding me a dictator, and an a**hole".

Doe's father added : ''I have not heard from my son since, and he has not fulfilled any of [the] promises he made."