The attorney general on Tuesday said a Michigan woman who won a million-dollar lottery, but continued to receive welfare benefits, has been charged with fraud. Amanda Clayton, 25, continued to collect thousands of dollars in state assistance for months after she won $1 million in the “Make Me Rich” game sponsored by the Michigan lottery, according to a statement from state officials. Attorney General Bill Schuette said, “It’s simply common sense that million-dollar lottery winners forfeit their right to public assistance.”
“I thought that they would cut me off, but since they didn’t, I thought, maybe it was OK because I’m not working,” Clayton told CNN affiliate WDIV when asked whether it was appropriate for her to receive the money. After a lump sum and taxes were taken out, Clayton, a resident of Lincoln Park, ended up with just over $500,000 and bought a new house and car in October 2011. Welfare recipients must report any changes in assets or income to the agency within 10 days, according to Michigan law. An investigation by the Department of Human Services and the Office of Inspector General has led Clayton to face two felony accounts of welfare fraud. Not only did Clayton fail to report her lottery winnings and other employment earnings, as Michigan law requires, she also “allegedly collected approximately $5,475 in food and medical benefits” she would have been ineligible for.
