Woman sues to halt lotto payout
When asked about past run-ins with the law, Elecia Battle said she was charged but not convicted.
“I’m done with that,” said Battle, aged 40. “I paid the fine. That’s end of story. It makes me look like I’m a bad person. Everybody has bad in the past. I’m not even worried about that, really. I never did any jail time for that.”
Battle said she was charged in the Cleveland suburb of South Euclid under her former married name, Elecia Dickson. She refused to discuss why or when she was charged. A call to the South Euclid police to try to confirm the charges was not immediately returned.
The Ohio Lottery on Tuesday declared Rebecca Jemison, aged 34, of South Euclid, the winner of the 11-state December 30 drawing, qualifying her for a lump-sum payment of $67.2 million, after taxes.
Later that night, Battle sued, asking a judge to block the lottery from paying Jemison.
Battle claimed in a police report that she dropped her purse as she left a convenience store after buying the ticket and only realised after the drawing that the ticket was missing.
“My ticket was lost. I do recall all the numbers. They are all somehow family related. No one can tell me what I did and did not play. I did it honestly and I have no doubt,” Battle said at the office of her attorney, Sheldon Starke.
Police are investigating whether she lied in the police report, a misdemeanour punishable by 30 days to six months in jail.
Jemison said Battle’s claim prompted her to quit stalling and submit her ticket.
“I was angry at first, but not worried at all,” Jemison said. “I knew what I possessed.”
Dennis G. Kennedy, director of the Ohio Lottery, said the lottery was confident Jemison bought the ticket. She provided another lottery ticket bought at the same time and had a ticket from a previous drawing with the same numbers, said Kennedy.
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