An American woman who won the lottery made a serious mistake that cost her her entire fortune.
28 years ago, Denise Rossi, an American, won $1.3 million (around 1.2 million euros) in the Florida lottery.
At the time, she was considering separating from her partner of several years but didn’t know how. This unexpected money allowed her to leave her husband, a certain Thomas Rossi, two weeks after her victory.
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The new millionaire was careful not to tell him that she had won the jackpot so as not to share her winnings with him. As a result, the couple ended up divorcing after 25 years of marriage.
Unsurprisingly, Denise Rossi has been enjoying her new life. But her fairy tale turned into a nightmare a few years later when her ex-husband made a surprising discovery about her.
The husband discovers the truth and makes a radical decision
While checking his mail, Thomas Rossi came across a letter from a lottery winnings management company. The missive was addressed to his former partner and indicated that the company had “helped hundreds of lottery winners like you across the country receive a lump sum equal to the present value of their future annual lottery payments».
It was in this context that the latter discovered that his ex-wife had won the lottery before their divorce. He also remembered Denise’s strange behavior when she left him.
«She wanted me to leave the house very quickly. It wasn’t like him to act like that” Thomas told People magazine in 2004.
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Considering himself wronged by Denise, Thomas turned to justice to obtain compensation. Verdict? The judge agreed that his ex-wife had broken laws regarding the disclosure of assets and funds and had acted fraudulently or maliciously.
Result: she was ordered to pay Thomas twenty annual payments of 66,800 dollars (more than 61,000 euros), or all of her winnings in the lottery.
Photo credit: Shutterstock
One thing is certain: Denise could have avoided this situation if she had been honest with her ex-husband at the time of the divorce. At least that’s what Connolly Oyler, his lawyer, says.
«I could have successfully argued that it was his separate property. Or we could have talked and we would have found a fit. But the judge got angry and gave him everything“, he explained.
Further proof that keeping secrets is rarely a good idea.
