ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 7, 1996 TAG: 9603070073
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: LAURA LaFAY LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
A man who bought a winning lottery ticket and then hid his identity from the state Lottery Board has prompted a proposed law that will prevent future winners from doing the same.
The man won $7.7 million in January 1995 with a ticket he bought at a convenience store in the tiny Southside peanut farming community of Newsoms. He then formed a limited liability corporation under whose name he collected the money. His identity is still unknown, according to Paula Otto of the Virginia Lottery.
The man wants to keep his identity a secret, partly because of security concerns, said Guy Crowgey, the Richmond lawyer who represented him and collected the winnings.
"This person has small children," said Crowgey. "And also, he wants to preserve his lifestyle. He wants to retain a certain amount of anonymity so people won't be constantly calling him up for money. He wanted to keep his job and keep going in and keep being treated the same way he was before."
Crowgey would not say where his client lives. But in Newsoms, residents speculate that he must be from North Carolina.
"We would know by now if he was from here," said Charles Bunn, who answered the phone at Newsoms Peanut Shop.
"It's just a small town. We only have 335 people, and I don't think any of us could keep quiet about something like that. We think maybe it was someone from North Carolina because someone from North Carolina was in the store that day." Newsoms is about five miles north of the state line.
The new legislation, proposed at the request of the Virginia Lottery by Sen. Joseph Benedetti, R-Richmond, will tighten the state code so that "only individuals" can collect prize money. It has been approved by the House of Delegates and is expected to be passed in the state Senate during the next few days.
"We feel that it's extremely important for the integrity of the lottery that individuals be identified as winners," said Otto.
State law requires the lottery to check a winner's eligibility (over 18 and unrelated to lottery employees) and tax liability before awarding any prize money. "We need to get a name and Social Security number so we can check to see if they have any outstanding state taxes," said Otto.
"But if we have a winner who comes in and claims a prize under a limited liability partnership, they can shield their identity."
Under the new legislation, said Otto, groups of individuals who provide their names can still collect prize money.
Crowgey said he was sorry to hear about the changes in the law.
"I think there's a real tension, a real duality there," he said. "I understand that they need to preserve the integrity of the lottery, but at the same time, [people who win] have legitimate concerns."
The Virginia Lottery routinely publicizes the names of those who win major prizes such as the Lotto jackpot and the $100,000 Pick 5, Otto said. The names of those who win smaller amounts can be obtained through the state's Freedom of Information Act.
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996by CNB