5 Lottery Winners Who Got in Trouble With the Law
One of New Jersey’s richest Powerball winners was charged Wednesday with sexually assaulting a child, prosecutors said, landing him on a growing list of lottery winners who have either befallen misfortune or been accused of a crime.
Pedro Quezada, 49, won $338 million — one of the state’s biggest Powerball jackpots in history — in 2013. He was arrested Wednesday and charged with sexually assaulting a young girl for about three years when the child was between 11 and 14 years old, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes said in a statement.
The alleged crimes took place before Quezada won the lottery, prosecutors said. Quezada faces 40 years in prison if he’s convicted. His lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday.
In light of the latest accusation, here are four other lottery winners who allegedly turned to crime:
Ronnie Music Jr.
Georgia lottery winner Ronnie Music Jr. was sent to prison this year after he won $3 million in a scratch-off lottery game and then used his new windfall of cash to buy a trove of methamphetamine to sell, federal officials said. In April, the 46-year-old was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison for his role in a massive drug trafficking ring. Authorities said, in at least one instance, Music supplied more than 10 pounds of meth to dealers in Georgia. “This case has received a great deal of light-hearted coverage because of Mr. Music’s unsound investment decision to buy crystal me...
Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Melissa Chan Tags: Uncategorized Crime Lottery onetime Source Type: news
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