ORLANDO, Fla. – FOX 35 News is continuing to hear from lottery winners who aren’t able to claim their winnings. They’re being told it’s because they were overpaid in unemployment benefits during the pandemic.
“Talk about a thrill,” said Kathleen Lambert after she and her husband won a $1,000 scratch-off ticket. “I was so excited, laughing and showing everybody, but that was very short-lived when we drove an hour and a half to the Gainesville lottery office waiting for that nice check. And my jaw dropped.”
Lambert says her jaw dropped because when she was told she couldn’t have the money because of overpaid unemployment benefits to her husband.
After winning the lottery, Lambert received a letter from FloridaCommerce saying they owed $1,200 they said was overpaid years ago.
Lambert tells FOX 35 the agency reached out years ago saying he was overpaid by $275 and has a record of paying that money back. They don’t recall owing any other money.
“I think it’s downright sneaky,” Lambert said. “It’s undermining to lottery winners.”
RELATED: Florida woman’s $2900 lottery win taken by state because it overpaid her unemployment during pandemic
Lambert is the second person to reach out to FOX 35 with a similar problem.
On Thursday, Elizabeth Thornton from Kissimmee told FOX 35 she couldn’t claim $2,900 that she won, because of an unemployment overpayment she says was waived by the agency.
In a statement, FloridaCommerce told FOX35 it “has helped more than 400 claimants with garnished lottery winnings resolve their issues and receive their prizes.”
But people like Thornton and Lambert said they’re still waiting for answers.
An employment attorney said most overpayments were waived by the state since it was the agency’s mistake – meaning the people didn’t have to pay it back.
That doesn’t mean the state won’t try to get the money back somehow.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if we begin to see more of these situations,” said attorney Art Schofield. “They’re going to look at the books before they hand out any money to anybody, particularly on lottery winnings.”
FOX 35 reached out to FloridaCommerce to ask about Lambert’s situation, and the agency says it is looking into it.
