$26M Lotto Ticket Destroyed In Laundry, Would-Be Winner Claims

NORWALK, CA — Imagine washing $26 million down the drain. A Norwalk woman who claimed to be a SuperLotto winner said she did just that.

The unidentified woman said she bought the $26 million-winning SuperLotto ticket, which expired Thursday, but said the ticket was destroyed when she put it in her pants pocket, then washed the pants, according to the manager of the Norwalk Arco ampm convenience store that sold the winning ticket.

The store had surveillance footage of the woman buying the winning ticket, the manager — who identified himself only as Frank — told KTLA. Store employees were familiar with the woman, who related her story to the manager on Wednesday. The store handed the footage over to California lottery officials, the manager said.

The footage may not be enough to prove the woman actually had the ticket or won the lottery.

“It would be very hard to prove,” said Cathy Johnston, California State Lottery spokeswoman. “We can’t rely on video because we don’t maintain those cameras. What if they didn’t fall back or spring ahead on the time stamp on the video? We’d be looking at a camera that hasn’t been maintained properly. We cannot rely on the accuracy or validity of other people’s equipment."

Johnston couldn’t say whether the woman went through the proper channels and filed a claim for the winnings.

“If I thought I was the winner, I would file a claim and let the lottery sort it out. I would let the lottery investigators do their job,” she said. “What would I have to lose at that point?”

The deadline to file a claim for the winnings was Thursday afternoon. Several people filed claims for the winnings.

Each claim is being investigated, Johnston said. The true winner must show proof that she is the owner of the ticket. Such proof may include a photo of the front and back of the winning ticket with the owner’s signature on it.

“We have to look at a lot of different factors,” Johnston said. “ There is a lot of security, a process they go through.”

The lottery office keeps the verification process famously secret. It’s not unusual for frauds to come forward with elaborate stories to claim the money. Investigators have to stay one step ahead of fraudsters.

A man claiming to have won the largest unclaimed jackpot — a $63 million ticket sold in Chatsworth in 2015 — sued the state for rejecting his claim. The yearslong lawsuit ended when a judge sided with the state, concluding the man’s claim was not legitimate.

Largest Unclaimed Jackpots In State History

• $63 million (draw date Aug. 8, 2015).
• $28.5 million (draw date Sept. 10, 1993).
• $26 million (the current unclaimed SuperLotto Plus jackpot from the Nov. 14, 2020, draw).
• $25 million (draw date Jan. 8, 2000).
• $20 million (draw date Oct. 11, 1997).

The lottery has a team of experts and a forensics center to help identify the true winner and root out fraud.

“It does happen. People get desperate,” Johnston said. “I wish we could show off our security forensic center. It’s amazing what they can do. There are so many little tricks that are built into tickets that [the public] doesn’t even know about. We want the real winners to be awarded the cash, but sadly we do get some people who try to work the system.”

Johnston said it’s too soon to determine if the woman in Norwalk did have the winning ticket. The verification process will take weeks.

In the meantime, there is a moral to this story, lottery officials said: Sign the back of your ticket and snap a picture of the front and the back.

SEE ALSO:

• Lottery Winner Becomes Record-Setting Loser
• Meet The Valley Man Who Keeps Winning The Lottery
• Excuse Me, Did You Leave $63 Million on the Table in Chatsworth?
• How A Lottery Jackpot Winner Became A Bank Robber
• 'It's The Lottery Curse,' Says Jackpot Winner Turned Bank Robber