Hear
A woman won the lottery in Florida with an instant game, but the state kept the entire prize for a detail that was unknown to it. The woman, a resident of Lakeland, a city located in Polk County, joined a long list of those affected who, after winning, realized that They could not collect their profits because they had debts with the state Department of Commerce.
Brittany Wilson is one of hundreds of people who contacted ABC Action News to tell his case, which he described as “a nightmare.” According to the media, received reports from more than 500 residents who claim that the local government withheld the winnings they earned from lottery games for a excess unemployment payment.
The woman explained that in January of this year she realized that won $5,000 with a scratch-off ticket. “I cried. “I really couldn’t believe it,” said Wilson, who said that at that moment was going through financial difficulties, so the prize would be a relief. “I was thinking about all the bills he had accumulated, about paying them, and then about my children. “My children are everything to me,” she added.
“Something that was so exciting turned into an absolute nightmare,” Wilson said. When he went to claim his prize at one of the state lottery district offices, he was informed that his payment could not be delivered because owed money to the state for receiving an excessive unemployment payment.
In a document that was given to him, and that he showed to the aforementioned media, it was possible to read: “Your ticket or claim has been classified as ‘special circumstances’, which require additional processing, which may delay payment of your bill.” In addition, it indicates that the agency that retained the profits is the Department of Economic Opportunity, which is now known as the Florida Department of Commerce.
The winner called the state unemployment office and waited for several hours to be answered. According to her, she was never notified of the overpayment. “I never received a notification, I never received a phone call, an email, nothing”he assured.
“My email on that site is still the same, so I checked all the emails and never received anything,” Wilson said. While, ABC Action News explained that two weeks after the outlet contacted the state on behalf of the affected womanthe woman was able to collect her lottery winnings.
The Florida Department of Commerce explains on its website that State and Federal Employment Assistance overpayments occur when applicants receive benefits for which they were not eligible due to a variety of factors. “Overpayments can be created as a result of a notice of ineligibility,” she warns.
When the Florida Department of Commerce determines that an overpayment has occurred on an assistance claim, it will distribute a Notice of Disqualification indicating that the claimant has an overpayment and the amount the claimant must repay. If you do not agree, the beneficiary has the right to appeal.
THE NATION
