DC Man Sues Lottery After Being Told $340 Million Win Was 'Mistake'

A Washington DC man is suing the DC lottery and Powerball after he was told that his winning numbers were published by mistake.

John Cheeks said he felt "numb" in Jan. 2023, after Powerball's winning numbers, published to their website for a full three days, matched his ticket. But when Cheeks presented his ticket to the Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG), they told him it was 'no good.'

"One of the claims agents told me my ticket was no good, just to throw it in the trash can," he told the BBC, and told NBC 4, "They have said that one of their contractors made a mistake."

Instead, he lawyered up, and is now suing the lottery for damages in the amount of the Powerball jackput, as well as any interest he would have earned on it since winning - totaling $340 million.

According to court filings, Powerball and DC-based Taoti Enterprises, a contractor, claim that the confusion arose from a technical error stemming from a quality assurance team running tests on the website. On that day, powerball numbers matching Cheeks' ticket were published to the website "accidentally," according to the defendants.

The numbers were left online for three days, between Jan. 6 and Jan. 9. They did not match the numbers from the last official lottery draw, a Taoti employee says.

Mr Cheeks is now suing on eight separate counts, including breach of contract, negligence, infliction of emotional distress. and fraud.

Mr Cheeks' lawyer, Richard Evans, said in court documents that because the winning numbers matched Mr Cheeks' numbers, he is entitled to the "entire jackpot". Otherwise, Mr Evans said, Mr Cheeks is entitled to damages for the "gross negligence" of the lottery in posting erroneous lottery numbers. -BBC

"This lawsuit raises critical questions about the integrity and accountability of lottery operations and the safeguards - or lack thereof - against the type of errors that Powerball and the DC Lottery contend occurred in this case," Evans told the outlet.

"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," he added.

Cheeks, whose next hearing in the matter is scheduled for Feb. 23, told the outlet that he's hopeful.

"I know the justice system will prevail," he told the BBC, adding that the lottery winnings would be life-changing for he and his family, and that if he wins, he plans to open a trust bank to assist aspiring homeowners.

According to the outlet, the odds of someone winning the jackpot are around one in 292.2 million, while the odds of being struck by lightning in any given year is 1 in 1.22 million, according to the US National Weather Service.