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Woman Who Won the Va.
Lottery Is Broke
Woman Who Won 4.2
Million in the
Virginia Lottery Is
Now in Debt to a Florida
Company
The Associated Press
ROANOKE, Va. May 3 - 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, owe $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.
Information from: The Roanoke
Times
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