A woman experienced a life-changing event when she won a massive $188 million in the Powerball lottery.
However, her joy turned into disappointment when she realized that her actual prize money, after taxes, was only $88 million. She didn't know that an even bigger surprise awaited her.
A woman who won the $188M Powerball lottery but only received $88M got a bigger surprise
Marie Holmes, a 26-year-old resident of North Carolina, became an overnight millionaire when she hit the jackpot in 2015.
She chose to receive a one-time payment of $88 million, which she brought home. She planned to use the money to buy a new house, pay for her children's schooling, donate to her church, and cover travel expenses.
Unfortunately, her joy quickly turned into a series of challenges.
The first significant setback came when her fiancé, Lamar McDow, was arrested for drug-related charges.
Holmes, deeply in love and wanting to help him, used a massive $3 million to pay for his release from jail.
Despite all her attempts, McDow ended up back in prison soon after being released.
This not only caused strain in their relationship but also resulted in McDow suing Holmes in federal court.
He alleged that she had given away gifts worth more than $1.4 million, such as cars, clothes, and property, which he believed belonged to him.
The lawsuit revealed that Holmes had purchased a house worth $250.000, where they lived together for a year. At the time of her lottery win, she was unemployed, living with her mother and three children in a modest mobile home.
The legal documents further detailed that Holmes had shared a significant portion of her winnings with McDow, gifting him a Chevrolet Stingray valued at $250.000, along with clothes, jewelry worth $100,000, and even a business worth $600,000.
However, McDow argued that all these gifts were later disposed of by Holmes after their breakup in 2017.
He accused her of secretly giving away his personal property without his knowledge or consent, leading to the lawsuit.
In response, Holmes's attorneys claimed that McDow never truly owned the gifts and characterized him as a disgruntled former financé with a criminal background and a penchant for baseless litigation.
