Lottery Secrecy Cost Entire Jackpot

In 1996, a California woman named Denise Rossi won $1.3 million through an office lottery pool, then filed for divorce from her husband of 25 years, a photographer named Thomas Rossi, just 11 days later without disclosing the prize. More than two years after the divorce, Thomas received a misdirected letter addressed to Denise from a company offering lump-sum payments for lottery winnings. He confirmed the prize with the California State Lottery Commission and took her back to court. In 1999, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge found that Denise had violated asset-disclosure laws and acted with fraud or malice, so he awarded Thomas the entire jackpot instead of the half he would normally have received.

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