Man Files Lawsuit Against US Lottery for Erroneous $340 Million Winning Claim

There was a moment in time when John Cheeks, an American citizen, truly believed his life was about to transform beyond his wildest dreams. While browsing the Powerball lottery game website, he stumbled upon the winning numbers that coincided with his own lottery ticket. In his heart, he knew he had just become richer by a whopping 340 million dollars. However, his joy was short-lived when he discovered that the numbers he saw were incorrect.

Despite the shocking revelation, Cheeks, a resident of Washington DC, maintains that he was perfectly sane when he saw the numbers in the early days of January. Speaking to NBC, he shared, “I was overjoyed, but I didn’t lose my composure. I didn’t make a fuss, I simply dialed a friend, took a snapshot of the numbers, and that was it. After the eventful night, I retired to bed.”

In his excitement, Cheeks went to claim his enormous cash prize not long after. However, his dreams were shattered when the scanner failed to identify him as the winner. The numbers he thought were his turned out to be wrong. But, Cheeks was so convinced that he had seen the correct numbers online, he held on to his ticket and decided to fight for his supposed winnings in court.

After some persistent questioning, Brittany Bailey from Taoti (a company that manages the American lottery website among other services) confessed to an error on their part. Apparently, a test had been conducted on the website prior to the draw which led to the incorrect winning numbers being displayed online. The incorrect numbers were removed from the site a day later. However, for Cheeks, the harm was done and the disappointment was immense.

Cheeks now seeks substantial compensation for the emotional distress caused by the incident. Only time will tell, when the case is presented in court, if he will receive the compensation he hopes for.