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Black Lottery Winners pt 2: Scammed, Sued, and Murdered!
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Sep 21, 2023
#lottery #lotterywins #blackexcellence #blackculture These are 8 more stories of Black lottery winners. Some were scammed, some were sued, and one was murdered. If you missed part 1 of this series, watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTMeImXYWQw Subscribe to our channel so you don't miss any future videos! Add your email to our list to stay updated- BlackExcellence.com Check out the books we love and recommend in our Black Excellence Book Club: https://www.blackexcellence.com/store/ Some links are affiliate links, which means we earn a very tiny commission if you make a purchase. __________________________________________________________ BlackExcellence.com is a digital platform dedicated to empowering excellence everyday through sharing thought provoking, informative, entertaining, and noteworthy stories in the Black community. All content provided by Black Excellence Media, LLC is for entertainment purposes only. None of the information or advice provided is to replace professional advice.
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We all love stories of beating the odds and the possibility of getting rich instantly
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So that's exactly what we're going to talk about today. Black lottery winners that beat unbelievable odds and some found glory while others found demise
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There's even a story of an affair and a murder. Stay until the end to hear all these incredible stories
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Let's jump right into our stories. Coming up first, we have Willis Willis
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The story of Willis Willis, yes, that is his real name, is one of good luck and bad luck
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The good luck is that Willis won a million dollar jackpot in Grand Perry, Texas in 2009
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The bad luck is he was scammed out of his money before he even got his winnings
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The story goes that Willis went back to the convenience store where he bought his lottery ticket with his winning ticket
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but he didn't know he actually won. The clerk checked the ticket, told Willis he won just $2, yes, $2, and kept the winning ticket to himself
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Suspicion was only raised when that clerk quit his job abruptly, and told cool workers he was moving back to Nepal to help his cousin run a business
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The convenience store then alerted the Texas Lottery Commission, which investigated the case and figured out the scam
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By that time, the clerk had already fled the country. Authorities were able to collect $400,000 from the bank accounts
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and friends and family of the clerk out of the $750,000 cash he got
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Willis proceeded to sue the clerk, the Texas Lottery Commission, and the convenience store
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He moved to El Paso, bought a modest home, and is living a simple life
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At number two, we have Solomon Jackson Jr. This retired South Carolina state employee only spent $2 on a lottery ticket that ended up winning him $260 million in 2009
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The lifelong Columbia South Carolina resident had a 1 and 195 million chance of winning
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That's a 1 and 1995 million chance of winning. Wow He chose to take the lump sum amount of million Jackson proceeded to donate a whopping million to his alma mater Morris College which was the largest donation in the college history Multiple campus buildings were built with that donation including a health center an administration
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building, and two resident halls. But that's not the only donation Jackson gave to schools
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He also donated $1.7 million to the University of South Carolina, 1.25 million to the Midland Technical College, and $1 million to the South Carolina State Museum
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Not much is known about how Jackson spent money on himself. But he did say that when he won the lottery, that he was already retired and had a good income
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So much of that money would be spent on others. At number three, we have Marie Holmes
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Marie Holmes was a single mother of four when she hit the jackpot at 26 in North Carolina in 2014
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Her odds of winning were a $1.175 million to win the $188 million jackpot and she hit it
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She chose to receive a lump sum and took home 87. $9 million after taxes
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Marie's then-boyfriend and father of her two daughters, Lamar McDowell, was arrested on drug
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charges two months before she won the lottery. It's been reported that she spent $21 million
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Yes, $21 million of her lottery winnings to bail McDow out of jail several times
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The couple even appeared on episodes of Ionla Fix My Life before McDow went to prison
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After the couple broke up in 2017, McDow sued Marie from prison for giving away several
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luxury gifts she had given him, including an automobile restoration shop, a truck, luxury
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clothing, and jewelry. Oh, and by the way, 77 acres of land. Marie's lawyer argued that McDowell
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never really owned any of these items and everything was under Marie's name. The case was
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eventually dismissed. While appearing on Ionla Fix My Life, Marie had confessed that the mansion
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she bought, a plantation, was in disarray and she was burning through her winnings, bankrolling
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allowances for relatives. At number four, we have Byron Woods. Byron and wife Barbara Woods
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won 49 million in Texas lottery in 2003 He was a diesel mechanic working nights and she was working at a convenience store In fact Barbara is the one who sold the winning ticket to Byron He has been playing the lottery for a long time spending up to a week They decided on an annuity which gave them an initial check for million
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and a payout of $1.95 million a year for 24 years. Since their winnings, the couple have invested in various businesses, including real estate and gourmet coffee shops
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But what they are most known for is the TP Motel. The TP Motel was built in 1942 and served travelers heading across Texas on state highway 60
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It had been closed for 15 years and was waiting to be demolished when the couple took interest in it
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They bought it, renovated it, and reopened it. At number five, we have Marvel Wilson
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Playing the lottery was one of Marvel Wilson's favorite pastimes. Her favorite hobby paid off when she won $2 million playing the Missouri lottery in 2008
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But just two years after winning the lottery, Marva was scammed. out of some of her winnings by a woman she had trusted. The woman Freya Pearson was supposed to do
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Marva's taxes and helped put a lien on a house. But what Freya ended up doing was tricking Marva
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into transferring more than $400,000 into a bank account she had set up. Fria was sentenced to five
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years in prison for fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, and other charges. Unfortunately
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Marva was not able to get any of her money back. She had planned to send her grandkids to college
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with the money. If you have made it this far into the video, thank you so much for watching
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Make sure you subscribe and hit that like button. It would really help our channel
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At number six, we have Miguel Pilgrim. Miguel Pilgrim won $52 million playing the Florida
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lottery in 2010. He opted to take a lump sum payment in the amount of $29 million
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He created the Pilgrim Group, a company that focuses on commercial and residential real estate
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in the Fort Lauderdale area. He also invested his winnings to revive
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Cis Trunk Boulevard, a part of downtown Fort Lauderdale that was once home to thriving black businesses
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Miguel established the Pilgrim Family Foundation, focusing on educational programs, scholarships and community development initiatives At number seven we have Jeffrey Dampier We moving from Miguel Pilgrim glorious lottery story to Jeffrey tragic one Jeffrey Dampier was working as a security guard in Chicago when he won million
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in the Illinois State Lottery in 1996. Jeffrey got a divorce from his wife after winning the lottery and split the prize money 50-50
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He eventually got married to a woman named Crystal Jackson and moved to Tampa Bay, Florida
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Jeffrey spent lavishly on his new wife and her family. He was especially generous to his new wife's sister, Victoria Jackson, when she fell on hard times
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Why, you ask? Oh, because Jeffrey was having an affair. But that story takes an even darker turn when a man Victoria was dating, Nathaniel wanted to get his hands on Jeffrey's money
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Victoria and Nathaniel then lured Jeffrey to their apartment, forced him into a van, and tried to convince him to hand over his money
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When Jeffrey didn't cooperate, they shot and killed. killed him and left his body in a van in a deserted road
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The couple was arrested a few days later and sentenced to life in prison
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And at number eight, we have David Johnson. And for our last story, we're heading over to Brooklyn for one of the biggest lotto wins
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of all time. David Johnson, a truck driver, won a $298.3 million jackpot in 2018
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The second largest jackpot win in the history of the New York lottery
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The Jamaican native have been playing the lottery for a long time in hopes of
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hitting it big and he finally did. David chose to take home the lump sum payout which was $114 million
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after taxes. He told reporters he had quit his job right away and bought his dream car a red Porsche
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He made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live four months after winning the lottery and said he had
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spent $29 million in three months, mostly giving it to his kids. He also took a nice vacation to
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Florida with his wife flying first class. He told Jimmy he spends his days doing nothing and kicking back
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and watching Mori. Oh, the joys of winning the lottery. So that's it for our stories of black
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lottery winners. If you ever play the lotto and hit it big, keep all these stories in mind
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learn from them, and make sure your story is one of glory and not to mind. See you all on the next
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episode of More Money Talks
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