Jury awards jailed illegal immigrant $750,000 lottery ticket
A jailed illegal immigrant in Georgia is the rightful owner of a $750,000 lottery ticket, a jury decided Thursday.
The Macon Telegraph has an excellent write-up on the tale of suddenly rich but soon-to-be-deported Jose Antonio “Tony” Cua-Toc, 27, a native of Guatemala who entered the country illegally in 2000.
Cua-Toc, a day laborer in the employ of Fort Valley business owner Erick Cervantes, bought the winning Jingle Jumbo Bucks lottery ticket in November 2010. Cua-Toc said he asked Cervantes to cash in the ticket because he was in the country illegally, but Cervantes kept the money.
Cervantes claims he gave Cua-Toc $20 to buy the ticket for him, but jurors watching store video of an exultant Cua-Toc decided that was not the behavior of a man who had just won a fortune for someone else.
The verdict in the civil suit would seem to set precedent — the jury determined the owner of a lottery ticket is not who pays for it, but who actually purchases it, which has me reconsidering the AJC office pool.
Cua-Toc’s winnings after taxes total $517,500. The Houston County jury also awarded him $207,000 in attorney’s fees and $25,000 in punitive damages. He is currently jailed on a DUI charge and will likely be deported after completing his sentence.
According to Georgia law, Cua-Toc could have claimed the prize as an illegal immigrant, which would have made this story a lot less interesting.
Now, I’m off to buy a $1 Mega Millions ticket. The drawing tonight is worth $148 million, and, if I win, I can assure you I won’t be asking my boss to cash it in for me.
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109 comments Add your comment
MeaneyMouse
March 9th, 2012
6:50 pm
HEYYYYYY YOU DANGED WOODCHUCKS STOP CHUCKING MY WOOD!!
Proud Native Georgian
March 9th, 2012
6:50 pm
To be very honest, I just wish the U.S. Constitution gave us a little more flexibility: there are a whole lot of honest, hard-working illegal immigrants I’d like to keep. And an equal number of sorry-assed U.S. citizens I’d like to deport (if we could only find some poor, unsuspecting country to take them)…..
KT
March 9th, 2012
6:52 pm
You White folks make me laugh.He will get deported to his native country.When will ya’ll go to ya’ll native country,because it’s not the USA.Go back to Euorpe or Sweeden or Germany
missnadine
March 9th, 2012
6:54 pm
Judging from this response, it appears as if many people don’t know that you can be perfectly legal in this country, and still not be a citizen? All of the comments here about only benefits being for American citizens are simply not even valid. Ever heard on a green card? Some of the smartest people have these – doctors, engineers, scientists, and more. They want to work here, pay taxes (more than most due to their positions), but do not acquire citizenship. I realize that this guy is illegal, but some of these comments are so dumb.
Some people marry a spouse from another country, live in that country, but retain their original citizenship. I did, and have lived in the US for over 25 years, with a Permanent Resident card. I own a business, hire US Legal Residents, and pay a boatload of taxes since I am a small shop. In the early 80s, I did live here illegally, worked at resturant jobs, and never took any handout. But guess what – no one noticed or cared, because I was white and spoke English.
KT
March 9th, 2012
7:11 pm
You racist White people never seem to amaze me.Ya’ll are always talking about sending someone who’s not white somewhere.When will ya’ll go back to Germany,Europe or Sweeden.Once ya’ll do that,i’m sure everyone else would be glad to return to their native country.How can you say that Christopher Columbus discoverd America,when someone was already lives there.Ya’ll are good at 1 thing and 1 thing only STEALING.
Orange12
March 9th, 2012
7:11 pm
Sorry, missnadine. I should have typed resident.
S
March 9th, 2012
7:21 pm
The Jury made the right decision. The employer should be brought up on charges of hiring an illegal immigrant.
Proud Native Georgian
March 9th, 2012
7:22 pm
Geez, KT, give it a rest, dude. Not all white people are racist. Yes, some are, but the same can be said for a certain number of people of color.
You’re right about Columbus: he didn’t discover anything (other than maybe sunburn from the open deck of a big sailboat). But you’re wrong about all white folks being thieves. You need to chill a little….
missnadine
March 9th, 2012
7:31 pm
BB -Gunn -I agree with you. The backlash toward unemployed people, who have worked hard until then, is just awful. It is terrible that after working as long as you did, and paying taxes as long as you did, that someone would question your integrity or work ethic. I think it is also criminal for some lawmakers to want to require drug tests for the unemployed.
Turd Ferguson
March 9th, 2012
7:50 pm
I Agree With ME,