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FoxInsider.com
3/7/2012
Amanda Clayton hit the jackpot, winning one million dollars in the Michigan lottery. So why is she still collecting welfare from the government? Judge Andrew Napolitano weighed in on the issue, saying that what she’s doing isn’t legal.
Clayton is using a Michigan version of food stamps, basically a debit card with $200 a month automatically on it. At the time she applied for the card, she qualified for the assistance but the Judge says she has an obligation to notify the government that she received a lump sum of $500,000 after taxes from the lotto. Neil Cavuto asked if legally, she can claim that it’s not a salary. The Judge said she will probably lose if she makes that claim.
He pointed out that regardless of her not notifying the government, it will be hard to go unnoticed because the same government that paid her the lotto winnings is also paying her welfare money. He called it “an example of modern-day, high-tech fraud. In her case, it’s fraud by silence.”
Watch the video at FoxInsider.com
Update: Public assistance ended for millionaire lottery winner