Lopes Owed Coworkers Lottery Millions

In November 2009, a 52-year-old New Jersey construction worker named Americo Lopes tried to keep a $38.5 million Mega Millions jackpot that his five coworkers said belonged to their workplace lottery pool at Berto Construction Inc. Lopes claimed he bought the winning ticket for himself, told his boss he was leaving for foot surgery that he reportedly never had, and then filed for unemployment after collecting $17,433,966 after taxes. In 2012, a jury unanimously rejected his story and awarded each of his five coworkers $4 million from the jackpot's $24 million cash-option value.

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