Ohio Woman Admits Lying in Lottery Case

Yahoo News ^ | 1/8/03

[marshmallow]

CLEVELAND - A woman admitted through tears Thursday that she lied about losing the winning ticket for a $162 million lottery prize, saying: "I wanted to win so badly for my kids and my family."

Elecia Battle, 40, is dropping her lawsuit to block payment of the 11-state Mega Millions jackpot to the certified winner, her lawyer Sheldon Starke said.

"I wanted to win," Battle said. "The numbers were so overwhelming. I did buy a ticket and I lost it. I wanted to win so bad for my kids and my family. I apologize."

The Cleveland woman had filed a police report saying she lost the ticket, possibly when she dropped her purse outside a convenience store. The lottery dismissed the claim and declared Rebecca Jemison, 34, the winner on Tuesday.

Police Lt. Kevin Nietert said Thursday he expected Battle to be charged with filing a false police report, a misdemeanor punishable by 30 days to six months in jail.

Battle apologized to her husband, her lawyer and Jemison, saying she wanted to use the money to help her family and recently laid-off Cleveland police officers.

"I'm not a bad person, I'm really not," she said. "Everyone has a past."

Lottery officials said they knew the truth all along.

"The Ohio Lottery from the beginning had all the confidence in the world that Rebecca Jemison had the winning ticket and purchased the winning ticket," spokeswoman Mardele Cohen said.

Jemison had provided another lottery ticket purchased at the same time and location and had a lottery ticket that showed she had played the same numbers in the prior drawing, the lottery said.

Battle's police report said the ticket numbers were related to her family, and police initially said she had a credible story because she knew details such as the approximate time the winning ticket was bought.

Police and court records show Battle has a criminal history.

While working at a Richmond Heights pharmacy in 1999, Battle used a customer's credit card number to make purchases, police said. She paid a $450 fine for misuse of a credit card, and a 10-day jail sentence was suspended.

Battle was convicted in 2000 in Cleveland Heights of assault for grabbing a drug store clerk's hair and scratching her, according to police records. Battle got a six-month suspended sentence.

She was convicted of criminal trespassing in 2002 and paid restitution of about $1,250, according to South Euclid court records. Fines were suspended because she was indigent.

Jemison, a hospital telephone operator who lives in suburban South Euclid, qualified for a lump-sum payment of $67.2 million, after taxes.

[egarvue]

I shoplifted a Playboy from the corner convenience store. But I just wanted to read the articles. Honest...

[Wright is right!]

Her first mistake was not realizing that the various lotteries are virtually scam-proof. They're all set up in such a way as to make what Battle was trying to do impossible. No one is going to pull ANYTHING over on any lottery. There are too many built-in safeguards.

Michael

[brewcrew]

"I'm not a bad person, I'm really not," she said. "Everyone has a past."

Some just have more than others. And some just keep adding to theirs.

[Mr. Mojo]

While working at a Richmond Heights pharmacy in 1999, Battle used a customer's credit card number to make purchases, police said. She paid a $450 fine for misuse of a credit card, and a 10-day jail sentence was suspended.

"Misuse"? How about theft? She should've been tossed in the slam.

[bobsatwork]

I love the line, "Everyone has a past". Reminds me of the great Homer Simpson line: "everything looks bad, if you remember it!."

[MPJackal]

"Police Lt. Kevin Nietert said Thursday he expected Battle to be charged with filing a false police report, a misdemeanor punishable by 30 days to six months in jail".


What about Fraud?

[mtbopfuyn]

What gets me mad is the liar's lawyer who, if he had any ethics, would not have troubled the true winner by all the statements he made implying that the ticket was actually up for grabs.

A lawyer with ethics?!? He was just hoping he'd get a nice tidy share of the winnnings.

[WackyKat]

Reminds me of the great Homer Simpson line: "everything looks bad, if you remember it!."

My favorite:" Beer is both the cause of, and the solution to, most of life's problems."

[Charles Henrickson]

The totality of my criminal past includes pilfering a pack of Juicy Fruit gum from my dad's store when I was 8.

I did just about the same thing! Swiped a pack of gum when I was a little kid. My uncle was with me at the time, found out what I did, and gave me a serious talking-to about how wrong it was. Never have stolen anything since.

When there is no adult authority figure (preferably male) in a person's life to impress upon one the seriousness of doing wrong, no matter how little it may start . . . well, I think we all have seen the results in our nation.

[jellybean]

She might have a little nest egg built up for her family if she hasn't had to spend so much money within the criminal justice system.

Or if she didn't waste so much money on the lottery!

[steve-b]

If Battle had kept up this nonsense -- especially if she had managed to delay payment to the legitimate winner -- she would have greatly damaged the appeal of the lottery. Who daydreams about winning millions of dollars after lengthy court battles, aspersions on one's honesty, and perhaps even direct personal harassment by hordes of scam artists?

The politicians who depend on lotteries as a relatively painless and economically benign (if you're going to tax something, it might as well be stupidity) source of revenue are surely aware of this.

I'll bet that it was made abundantly clear to this huckster that the full prosecutorial machinery of the State of Ohio would be brought to bear if she didn't back off PDQ.

[pabianice]

But it was for the children!

[Charles Henrickson]

I hereby dub her:

The Battle of Bunco Haul

[Republicus2001]

It's Bush's fault

[radiohead]

When my son was little (below the age of reason), he picked up a few things in stores, which we made him return when discovered. We worked hard to impress upon him that what he was doing was stealing and that it was wrong.

So, one day he's in the store with his grandfather, and as he's ploped in the shopping cart, my little fella says at the top of his voice, "Remember, Grandpa, no stealing today!"

[GMMAC]

Tops is Sideshow Bob's ever famous:
"I'll be back ... you can't keep the Democrats out of the Whitehouse forever ... and when they get in ... I'm back on the streets with all my criminal buddies ... bwaa-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

[Guillermo]

"I like my beer cold, my television loud and my homosexuals fuh-laaaaming"

[Johnny_Cipher]

I'll bet that it was made abundantly clear to this huckster that the full prosecutorial machinery of the State of Ohio would be brought to bear if she didn't back off PDQ.

I agree - it sure sounds like somebody got some rather heated telephone calls. On the filing a false police report charge, dollars to donuts that this fraudster gets probation or the minimum sentence at most as a "reward" for her "honesty."

[Guillermo]

"When will I learn? The answer to life's problems aren't at the bottom of a bottle, they're on TV!"

[WackyKat]

Favorite Grampa Simpson quote(upon receiving an unexpected royalty check meant for Bart and Lisa):

"Hey, I just got a big check for doing absolutely nothing- Hot dang! the Democrats are back in the White House"!