Woman Who Won the Va. Lottery Is Broke
 

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Woman Who Won the Va. Lottery Is Broke

May 3, 2004, 11:11 AM EDT


ROANOKE, Va. -- A woman who won millions in the Virginia lottery 11 years ago is now deep in debt to a Florida company that lent her money using the winnings as collateral.

Suzanne Mullins, who won $4.2 million in 1993, owes $154,147, a circuit court judge ruled last week.

Mullins couldn't be located for comment. Her lawyer, Michael Hart, blamed her debt on the lengthy illness of an uninsured son-in-law who needed $1 million in medical bills before he died in 2000.

"It's been a hard road," Hart said. "It's not been jet plane trips to the Bahamas."

When Mullins hit the jackpot in January 1993, she planned to split the money three ways with her husband and daughter. After taxes, Suzanne Mullins' share worked out to 20 annual payments of $47,778.84.

But the payments weren't enough, and money got tight. Mullins decided in 1998 to take out a loan with People's Lottery Foundation, a company with the financial niche of serving lottery winners who need their money faster than the annual payments can arrive. The foundation lent Mullins $197,746.15, which she agreed to pay back with her yearly checks from the Virginia lottery through 2006.

Then, when lottery rules changed in 2000 to allow winners to collect their money in a lump sum, Mullins decided to cash in on the remaining amount. She did not make any more payments on the loan after February 2001, according to a lawsuit filed by Singer Asset Finance Co., a Delaware company that was assigned the note from People's Lottery Foundation.

Hart declined to comment on Mullins' current financial situation or her ability to pay the judgment. Mark Kidd, the attorney who represented Singer Asset Finance Co., said his understanding is that Mullins has no assets.

Tom Nasta of Personal Financial Planning in Roanoke said it's not unusual for people to go broke after winning the lottery. Nasta said he once had a client who won $1 million and had only a mobile home to show for it within seven years.

:1orglaugh

Happens all the time.

Easy money is evil.

That sucks!

Gee.. sounds like my ex about now.

It happens more often than not. People come into large sums with no idea on how to handle it, blow it on stupid things.Then back to Rags again :2 cents:

doesnt surprise me at all. these people have no idea how to spend their money wisely.... which is why they are playing the lottery in the first place.

Hahaha then she cashes out and stops making payments. LOL

What he said.

Won money has no real value to the person that won it..

When you break your back to make your first million, god knows you are going to be pinching every damn penny. ;)

Exactly. Most lottery winners are in massive debt within 5 years.

The lottery system is a tax on those who can't do math to begin with, let alone create a budget.

I read a study of the financial status of over 100 lottery winners a few years ago. Interestingly enough, most of the winners *didn't* blow the majority of their winnings on themselves; they blew it on friends and family. I guess you never know how needy your family is, nor how many friends you have until you're a lottery winner :uhoh

I'd imagine the statement "but you're a millionaire" came up far too often from those leeches.

Yep. Very sad, though.

Not enough for me to really give a shit, but still...

I guess this story illustrates the fact that "wealth is an attitude and point of view"

Yeah, like $100k+ cars and huge houses they cant afford. Kinda reminds me of webmasters.

are you trying to tell me something??:1orglaugh

reminds me of that dickhead rappr Vanilla Ice
spent all his money on cars and was broke in under a year

yeah, but it was only 50k a year and she spent a shitload on her son's health gave the rest to family... I mean c'mon.. it's not like she won 200 mill spent it all on cars and coke and is broke.

I used to know a guy that stumbled into $120k. He was broke as fuck when he got the money and about 6 weeks later, he was trying to sell me his car speakers for $5 each. He pissed away $120,000 in six weeks on cocaine and Harleys for his buddies. :thumbsup

I agree, but at the same time...I'm not blaming her; people who suddenly come into money generally do not know how to handle it. Lots of families would be thrilled to see 50k a year. For a family, that's enough to maintain a moderate lifestyle, nothing more. So if there were financial issues, the winnings were not a fix, they were a freakin' blessing from on high.

With proper planning, that woman could have seen to her family's needs and not had to go the debt route. I know the view is always clearer from outside, and I'm sorry things turned out badly for her, but I just can't feel sorry for her. She got a miraculous second chance, and fucked it up.

I've experienced "sudden" money and I know how quickly it can go away...and it sucks, but you just can't blame anyone but yourself when it's gone.

I'm not absolving her of blame or anything, she still mis-managed her money it's just nothing i'd really laugh at her over.
Although i don't know why the husband and daughters share can't bail her out.. but whatever.

She just couldn't cope up with her sudden wealth