That’s one explanation for a weird story where a New York lawyer acting on behalf of holder of a winning lottery ticket purchased at a Des Moines convenience store let the ticket expire rather than revealing the identity of the ticket owner.
The ticket was turned in hours before its expiration by a Des Moines law firm hired by a New York attorney employed by a Belize trust claiming to be the ticket owner. The lottery wouldn’t approve the prize without knowing who was behind the trust, and the trust wasn’t telling. Apparently $14 million wasn’t enough money to get the human(s) behind the trust to come out of the cold.
It’s hard to imagine what would cause somebody to walk away from a $14 million prize. Every speculative theory has a probable weakness:
Could unpaid taxes be the problem? Belize is noted as a tax haven, Could the winner be a Des Moines millionaire-next-door who has been stashing money illegally in Belize, didn’t want to draw attention, and was willing to claim the prize only anonymously? If so, it seems like a play gone wrong. Winning the lottery would seem to be a godsend for a tax evader. Suddenly nobody would think twice about your new sports car and big house in Florida.
One theory makes as much sense as any (that is to say, not a whole lot). The convenience store where the ticket was purchased is at an Interstate 80 exit. Recently Iowa’s interstates have been
clogged with strange people from out of town. Perhaps a wealthy stranger bought the ticket while his people were fueling up. Maybe a stranger with offshore investments, who seems shy about his wealth, and who knows a thing or two about investing in tax havens. Somebody who could walk away from $14 million and still have plenty left over.
Know anybody like that?
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