An American who won $10,000 after buying a scratch game almost never got his winnings back.
For Joe Cheung, an unemployed mechanic in Florida (USA), life should have been easier thanks to this help from heaven. After buying a scratch game, the man wins 10,000 dollars (about 9,500 euros). A plump sum allowing him to breathe a few weeks and please his loved ones. But as the local channel WPLG tells, Joe is disillusioned when going to collect his winnings. When he goes to the lottery office in Miami, his interlocutor tells him that he will not pocket the 10,000 dollars and, in addition, he must reimburse money to the State of Florida. All because of an error for which he is not even responsible.
Far from being a special case
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, several months back, Joe received financial assistance because he was unemployed. However, the department in charge of this compensation made a mistake and paid him a surplus of 7,800 dollars. Proof in support, the overpayments have been canceled. But the organization didn’t want to hear anything and asked Joe for the money he didn’t receive. After long months of trying to reach an adviser to assert his rights in vain, the American is annoyed at not being able to “get his hands on” anyone.
Fortunately for him, the local media seized on this story and the WPLG chain contacted the office at the origin of the misunderstanding. Chance or coincidence, Joe finally receives a call a few days later. “They told me there was a mistake and it would take me four to six weeks to get the check back,” he says. After this obstacle course which lasted several months, the man will be able to breathe and use the money to pay his debts.
According to the Florida Lottery, from January 2022 through January 2023, nearly 10,000 lottery winners statewide received a letter claiming they owed money.
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