Powerball Winner James Farthing Arrested a Fifth Time Since $167 Million Jackpot, Found Asleep in Walmart Parking Lot

Photo via WVLT

James Farthing, 51, of Kentucky, won a $167.3 million Powerball jackpot in April 2025 — the largest Powerball jackpot ever won in Kentucky, according to People. Since claiming that life-changing prize, he has now been arrested five times. His latest arrest came on a public intoxication charge after deputies found him asleep in a running car in a Walmart parking lot.

The Fifth Arrest: Asleep in a Walmart Parking Lot

Farthing was taken into custody around 4:04 a.m. on Sunday, September 20, 2026, in Georgetown, Kentucky, and charged with alcohol intoxication in a public place, per WHAS11 and LEX 18 News, citing an arrest citation.

According to People (via Yahoo News, published September 21, 2026), the incident began shortly before 3 a.m., when a passerby reported a white Ford Mustang with a temporary tag stopped in the intersection of Cherry Blossom Way and Connector Road. The vehicle later moved to a nearby Walmart parking lot and stopped near the EV charging stations.

Deputies found the Mustang still running with Farthing alone inside, asleep in the passenger seat. They had to knock on the window repeatedly to wake him. Deputies alleged he had bloodshot and watery eyes, slurred speech, difficulty maintaining balance, and that they smelled alcohol and marijuana. He was described as "manifestly under the influence of alcohol" and believed to pose a danger to himself and others because he could operate the vehicle while impaired.

Farthing claimed a woman drove him to the lot and left him there — but surveillance footage reportedly showed the Mustang arriving with no one getting out before police arrived. He was taken to the Scott County Detention Center.

Four Prior Arrests Since the Jackpot Win

All four of Farthing's earlier arrests came after he claimed the lottery prize:

1. Days after claiming the prize: arrested in Pinellas County, Florida, after an altercation at a resort — charged with battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest after police said he kicked an officer trying to break up an altercation involving Farthing and another person.
2. February 2026 (Kentucky): arrested and charged with intimidation of a participant in the legal process.
3. March 2026: arrested on second-degree burglary and marijuana possession; police alleged he entered a Lexington home and took about $12,000 in cash.
4. July 2026: arrested in Scott County after an alleged domestic violence incident — charged with first-degree strangulation and fourth-degree assault causing minor injury. The alleged victim said they had argued after returning from a boating trip and accused him of putting both hands around her neck, restricting her breathing. He pleaded not guilty at a July 28 court appearance; bond was set at $15,000 and he was ordered to avoid contact with the alleged victim and wear a monitoring device, per LEX 18 News.

How Scammers Exploit Lottery Winner Headlines

Stories like Farthing's go massively viral — and scammers know it. Every time a huge lottery jackpot makes national news, fraud artists blast out fake "you've won the lottery" emails, texts, and social media messages designed to look like the real thing. They borrow details from real headlines — real jackpot amounts, real winner names, real lottery brands like Powerball — to make their phishing messages sound legitimate.

The setup is almost always an advance-fee scam: you're told you've won a prize, but you must pay "taxes," "processing fees," or "delivery charges" before you can collect it. The prize doesn't exist. Once you pay, the scammer disappears — or keeps inventing new fees.

Red Flags of a Lottery Scam

• You can't win a lottery you never entered. If you didn't buy a ticket, any "win" notification is a scam.
• You're asked to pay money upfront to claim a prize — real lotteries deduct taxes from winnings; they never demand gift cards, wire transfers, or crypto payments first.
• Pressure and urgency — "claim within 24 hours or lose it all" is designed to stop you from thinking.
• Contact from unofficial channels — real lotteries don't notify big winners by random email, text, or Facebook message.
• Requests for personal or banking information to "verify" your win.

How to Protect Yourself

• Never respond to, click links in, or call back numbers from unexpected "lottery win" messages.
• Never pay fees to collect a supposed prize.
• Verify claims only through the official state lottery website or by calling the lottery directly.
• Report lottery scams to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to your state attorney general.
• Warn older relatives — they are disproportionately targeted by these scams.

Source: People via Yahoo News, "167 Million Lottery Jackpot Winner Arrested for the Fifth Time Since His Win," by Angelique Brenes, published September 21, 2026. All charges described are allegations; Farthing pleaded not guilty to the July 2026 charges.

Oakland County Woman Wins $110K Michigan Lottery But Thought the Email Was a Scam so Ignored it

 A Michigan woman thought she was being scammed when she received an email stating that she had won $110,689 in the Michigan Lottery Connect.

Oakland County Woman Wins Michigan Lottery; credit: Alejandro Garay

The 47-year-old woman remained anonymous after she was selected in a pool that took place on 14 December 2022. 

She told the Michigan Lottery officials about what happened.

She said:

"I knew that by playing the Monthly Jackpot game online, I was earning entries into a second chance giveaway. I never thought I would win the second chance drawing, so I was hoping for an instant win playing the games." -Michigan woman that won $110K lottery (Source: Michigan Lottery Connect)

She discovered the email randomly and thought it was a scam.

She said:

"I was checking my email one day and saw an email from the Lottery informing me that I'd won a $110,689 Monthly Jackpot prize and I thought it was a scam. I decided to wait until the next day to do anything about the email because I was certain that I hadn't actually won. When I got a call from the Lottery a few hours later confirming my prize, I was so excited! Winning is such an unbelievable feeling." -Michigan woman that won $110K lottery (Source: Michigan Lottery Connect)

 Eight Monthly Jackpot Progressive prizes have been awarded since the game began in April 2022:

• April 2022 – $338,256 progressive jackpot prize
• May 2022 – $178,116 progressive jackpot prize
• June 2022 – $139,221 progressive jackpot prize
• July 2022 – $121,668 progressive jackpot prize
• August 2022 – $104,730 progressive jackpot prize
• September 2022 – $99,821 progressive jackpot prize
• October 2022 – $97,885 progressive jackpot prize
• November 2022 – $110,689 progressive jackpot prize

(Source: Michigan Lottery Connect)

Black Swan Capital LLC is Profiting from Winning the Lottery

 

There is a secretive company in the United States that is profiting off of the Lottery. The Indy Star first reported this group on 11 November 2020. To date, Black Swan Capital LLC has won at least $6.3 Million USD cash, and has claimed at least 66 winning lottery tickets, in a multi-state lottery scheme to win. Black Swan Capital LLC is registered in Delaware as an "open-end investment fund," formed on June 27, 2019.

Who is the Leader of Black Swan Capital LLC?

The leader of Black Swan Capital LLC is Manuel Montori, and there are at least three other Princeton alumni involved: Matthew Gibbons, Hannah Davinroy, and Zoe Buonaiuto. 

How much did Manuel Montori win playing the lottery?

In Indiana, Manuel Montori has won 58 times the $1,000 cash prize from $30 lottery tickets in the $7,000,000 MEGA CASH lottery. He also won 3 tickets for $10,000.00 USD cash in this same lottery. He has won $88,000.00 USD doing this.

In Missouri, Manuel Montori won $5 Million USD from a scratch-off lottery on Oct. 6. He has won a total of $121,000 USD from the Missouri lottery, and was collected by Hannah Davinroy.

In Washington D.C., Manual Montori won $100,000.00 USD from the D.C. lottery.

Statistical Advantage to win the Lottery Cash Prize

The Indy Star suggests that the Black Swan Group LLC is using statistics to win at these lotteries, using publicly available information, available on the lottery websites. The scheme involves members of the group buying lottery tickets in mass, often buying up all of the tickets at once, from various locations. Black Swan Capital LLC then enjoys all of the cash rewards from this scheme.

Michigan Mega Millions Winner has to Share $38 Million with his ex-wife

Mega Millions Lottery ticket

How would you like to have to share your lottery winnings with your ex-wife?

One lottery winner had to do just that. Richard Zelasko with the $80 Million prize from the Mega Millions lottery jackpot in July 2013, and was ordered by the Michigan Court of Appeals to share his winnings with his ex-wife.

After taxes and fees, his total prize came to $38,873,628.00 USD and he had to share it with his wife - Mary Elizabeth Zelasko. They filed for divorce in 2011, but they were still waiting for legal arbitration with Richard Zelasko won the Mega Millions Lottery. Because the divorce was still in arbitration, the court ruled that Richard Zelasko must share the lottery winnings with his ex-wife.

Richard Zelasko's divorce was officially finalized in 2018.

$530 Million Mega Millions Winner in San Diego, California

Mega Millions Winner

The Mega Millions Winner has not come forward yet...

On Friday 07 June 2019, there was one winning Mega Millions lottery ticket sold in San Diego, California. The winner has not yet come forward as of 08 June 2019. The cash prize at the time of drawing is $530 Million USD. California is a great place to win in a lottery, because the lottery winnings are not taxed, however California does not allow a lottery winner to stay anonymous. The state of California does give lottery winners up to a year to claim their prize.

The winning numbers for the Mega Millions lottery ticket were: 17 - 19 - 27 - 40 - 68  Mega Ball 2

It is important that the winner of the latest Mega Millions to take precautions to stay safe, as lottery winners are often targeted by scammers. Some of these scammers pretend to be an old friend or a relative.

Anyone that thinks they are being targeted by a scam should immediately contact their local police.

Maria Sanchez International Lottery Email Phishing Scam

From: Mrs, Maria Sanchez <eagle@air.ocn.ne.jp>
Date: Fri, Oct 26, 2018, 2:32 AM
Subject: FINAL AWARD WINNING NOTIFICATION
To: 

Euro Miliones International Lottery                  

Avenida Juan Real 24, 28002

                  Madrid Spain.

                  FROM: THE DESK OF MANAGING DIRECTOR

        CLAIM FILE NUMBER: EG/008045160003                                                                                                                      

          BATCH NUMBER: 100000488                                                                          

ATTENTION: STAKE WINNER                                                        



                                    FINAL AWARD WINNING NOTIFICATION



We are pleased to inform you of the results of THE EURO MILLONES - LA PRIMITIVA MULTI-MILLION LOTERIA BONANZA held on 19 TH of october . 2018. Your EMAIL ID attached to Ticket Number: 756-01457446-091, Batch Number: 100000488, Claim File Number: EG/008045160003, Winning Number: 07-07-12-30-82-07-02, Prize Claim Track  Number: NO: 9703 which consequently won the lottery on the 3rd category.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

You have therefore been approved for a lump sum payout of ($1,200 000, 00 USDOLLARS)  ONE MILLION, TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND US DOLLARS) in cash credited to file Claim Number: EG/008045160003/SEP/17. This is from a total cash prize of Ђ300,871,150.00 (THREE HUNDRED MILLION,EIGHTY HUNDRED AND SEVENTY ONE THOUSAND, ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS) shared among the one hundred and Eighty Nine international winners in this category.

Your fund is now deposited with a Bank insured in your EMAIL ID.  And, as a result of unauthorized deductions by some Agents in the past, a BOND POLICY has been placed on your winning; therefore no deduction whatsoever is permitted to be made from your fund. You are expected to report to the board if this is breached. Due to mix up of some Numbers and Names, We ask that you keep this Award from public notice until your Fund has been processed and your money remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming or unwarranted taking advantage of this program by participants. All participants were selected through a random computer ballot system drawn from 1,000,000 Names from Asia, Europe, Australia, Africa, North and South America.

To begin your claim, please contact your claims Agent; MR. Robert Brown Morgan Foreign operations Manager, CITI SECURITY & FINANCE S.L. on Email:cfinance.company@europe.com  for processing and remittance of your prize money. Remember, all prize money must be claimed not later than 30th November 2018.  After this date all funds will be returned to the MINISTERIO DE ECONOMIA Y HACIENDA as unclaimed.

NOTE: In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please remember to quote your Claim File and batch numbers in every of your correspondence with us or your Agent. Furthermore, shall there be any change of your address, please inform your Claims Agent as soon as possible. Congratulations once again from all members of our staff and thank you for being a part of  our annual promotional program.

Yours Sincerely,

Mrs, Maria Sanchez.

VICE President

International Lottery

U.S. Mega Million Lottery Grows to $1.6 Billion October 2018

U.S. Mega Millions

People want to know: How much is the lottery now?

After no winners were drawn on Friday, October 19, 2018, the U.S. Mega Millions lottery breaks a world record for a lottery at $1.6 billion. The last record breaking jackpot was $1.586 billion in the Powerball lottery. This is due in part to a change by the lottery organizers to lower the odds of winning, which went into effect a year ago (October 2017). The new odds were raised to 1-in-303 million.

The last Mega Millions winners came from California, there were 11 co-winners, and they were all co-workers. They shared $543 million.

The Mega Millions lottery draws winners on Tuesdays and Friday at 11 p.m. Eastern time.

Winning the Mega Millions Lottery

If a Mega Millions lottery participant hits all 6 numbers to win, they can choose the lump sum payout immediately of $904 million dollars, or can choose $1.6 billion over a span of 29 years.

Did You Know?
The Mega Millions Lottery is played in 44 U.S. states and the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands.

Protect Yourself Online from Scammers

Lawyer Jason Kurland - who has been employed by previous lottery winners - recommends that if you win the lottery, to wipe clean (or delete) your online profiles on social media so scammers have a harder time finding you.

Mega Millions Powerball Jackpot Reached $432 Million in January 2021

The Mega Millions Powerball jackpot reached $432 Million USD in January 2021 with the next drawing set for Tuesday, January 5, 2021.

FACEBOOK ONLINE LOTTERY EMAIL PHISHING SCAM

From: FACEBOOK INC USA
email: info@facebookaward.com
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS FROM FACEBOOK!!!

The following phishing email was received and reads as follows:

FACEBOOK ONLINE INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY
FROM: THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT
CATEGORY: 2ND

CONGRATULATIONS FROM FACEBOOK!!!

Facebook is aimed at saying A BIG THANK YOU to all our Online Users  
for making Facebook their number one means to Connect, Communicate,  
Relate and Hookup with their Families, Love Ones and Friends over the  
years.

So We are pleased to inform you of the result of the DRAW held on (1ST  
OF OCTOBER 2016) by Facebook Inc in cash Promotion to encourage the  
usage of Facebook Users world wide, your Facebook Email Account was  
among the 50 Lucky Winners who won ( Six Hundred Thousand United State  
Dollars ) each on the Facebook Promotion Award Attached to Ticket  
Number (5647600545189), Lucky Number:(2551256002/244) and Serial  
Number (55643451907).

Kindly get back to us for further instructions as you are required to  
contact our dispatch dept ( facebookinc.usa@aol.com ) by signifying  
your interest by providing your most confidential your NAME, CELL  
PHONE NUMBER for quick communication also your HOME ADDRESS and  
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.

Acknowledge this mail by replying back immediately.
John Cole
Promo Coordinator.
© 2016 FACEBOOK

Note: The preceding email is obviously not from the real Facebook company. It is only to be used for information purposes to protect yourself.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next: Facebook Online Lottery

Murphy Wilberfox May 17 @ 4:15pm Report

Facebook® Online International Mega-Jackpot

Promotion/Claims Department

300 SOUTH GLENDALE AVENUE

GLENDALE,  CA 91205 U.S.A.

*******************************************

CONGRATULATIONS FROM FACEBOOK!!!

*******************************************

Dear user,

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the just concluded annual Final draws held on the (14th of May 2016) by Facebook group incash Promotion to encourage all Facebook users worldwide, your javascript:void(0) Name was among the 50 Lucky winners who won $2,000,000:00USD each on the Facebook group promotion Award Attached to ticket number (FB/5647600545189) and Ref No (FB/2551256002/41875) Serial Number (FB/55643451907).

The online draws was Conducted by a random selection of emails, you were picked by an Advanced automated random computer search from Facebook, the lottery program which is a new innovation by Facebook is aimed at saying A BIG THANK YOU to all our users for making Facebook their number one means to connect, communicate, relate and hook up with their families and friends over the years.

For the claim of your winning amount of $2,000,000.00, kindly provide your full details as stated below.

Full Name: ..........................................

Gender: .............................................

Age: ................................................

Address: ............................................

City: ...............................................

State: ................Zip Code:.....................

Mobile Phone Number: ................................

Occupation: .........................................

Copy of I.D..........................................

To avoid unnecessary delays and complications please remember to quote your reference and batch numbers in all correspondences. Furthermore, if there is any change in email address please notify us on time.

All winnings must be claimed before the end of this program; otherwise all funds will be returned as unclaimed and eventually donated to charity organizations.

Thanks and best regards,

Mark Zuckerberg

Founder/Facebook.com

Facebook Online Lottery

Jennifer Larry UK Lottery Organization Email Phishing Scam

From: Jennifer Larry UK - LOTTERY ORGANIZATION
Email: jenniferlary@uklotto.co.uk
Subject: FROM UK -LOTTERY ORGANIZATION

FROM: Jennifer Larry UK - LOTTERY ORGANIZATION
TICKET FREE/ONLINE E-MAIL ADDRESS WINNINGS

If you are the correct owner of this email address then be glad this day
as the result of the UK lotto online e-mail address free-ticket winning
draws of 11th July 2016, held in Bangkok Thailand has just been released
and we are glad to announce to you that your email address won you the
sweeptakes in the first category and you are entitled to claim the sum of
US$3.8Million, Your email address was entered for the online draw on this
Free Ticket Numbers:UKL56475800545188 and won on this Lucky Numbers:
AZ071223262944.


You are to contact Mr. John Edward on the below email address for quick
delivery of your won cheque of US$4.6Millon. Note that all winners cheque
are certified cashiers bank cheque and when delivered and received by you,
you can cash it in your bank without any delay. To enable Mr. John Edward
ascertain you as the rightful winner and receiver of the US$3.8Million
certified cashiers bank cheque, MAKE SURE you include the below listed
information in your contact mail to Mr. John Edward Your country of origin
and country of residence/work, complete official names, amount won, free
ticket and lucky numbers, date of draw, address where your wish to receive
your certified cashiers bank cheque, contact telephone, Sex and Age.


Appointed Claims Agent/Representatives
Mr. John Edward
Email-Address:johnedward070000@yahoo.co.jp

Just in case you are thinking of how you won without entering, then know
again that this very draw of the UK Lottery Organization in which you have
emerged as a winner was a free ticket online email address draws where
thousands of email addresses was collected from almost all world wide
websites and used for the online draws/sweepstakes and during winners
selection your email address came out among the first ten which won you
the lottery in the first winnings category and entitles you to claim the
certified cashiers bank cheque of US $3.8 Million.

From: Mrs. Jennifer Larry
UK Lottery Organization

Powerball Lottery Winner Claims $425 Million on April Fool's Day

Powerball Lottery Tickets, (source: Flickr CC; by Claire P.)

A winner for the $425 Million Powerball Lottery has stepped forward to claim his prize on April Fool's Day. B. Raymond Buxton is the winner of the Powerball Lottery. This is what he has to say on it:

"Unbelievable! is all I could muster...once the initial shock passed, I couldn't sleep for days." B. Raymond Buxton checked his ticket over and over in disbelief. He could not belief that he won, and wondered if it was real.

B. Raymond Buxton has been playing the Powerball Lottery for 20 years, and it is finally paying off for $425 million.

$425 Million Powerball Winner has a great sense of Humor

B. Raymond Buxton went to the California Lottery Headquarters in Sacramento to claim his $425 million in winnings on April 1, 2014, and it was no joke, although he has a great sense of humor.

B. Raymond Buxton claimed his winning ticket wearing a Star Wars shirt that read: "Luck of the Jedi I have."

What the Powerball Lottery Winnings will be used for

B. Raymond Buxton has stated that he will use the winnings to set up a foundation for pediatric health, ending child hunger, and improving education.

B. Raymond Buxton really doesn't want to get media attention for being a Powerball winner, and doesn't want to share his age or previous job information for security reasons.

This winning ticket was bought at a convenience store in Milpitas, which is 10 miles north of San Jose, CA.

The Powerball Lottery is available to play in 43 states, plus Washington D.C. and U.S. Virgin Islands.

Statistic: The actual odds of winning the Powerball Lottery are about 1 in 175 million.

B. Raymond Buxton Email Phishing Scam

If you receive any kind of email from someone claiming to be B. Raymond Buxton, it is a scam. The real B. Raymond Buxton is not emailing people, wanting to give away his winnings.

February 2015 Powerball Reaches $450 Million

The Powerball prize amount has risen to $450 Million USD after no one claimed the prize award in this multi-state Powerball. The next Powerball drawing will take place on Wednesday, February 11, 2015. This February 2015 Powerball is one of the highest payouts ever.

Puerto Rican Powerball Winner wants to be Anonymous

One winner of the $564 Million dollar Powerball in February 2015 chose to stay anonymous, and rightly so.  People claim to be relatives and hassle Powerball winners for money if their name is publicly announced. The winner of the $564 Million powerball can take a lump sum of $101 Million or receive 30 payments over 30 years.

January 2016 $1.5B Powerball Winner Rumor

Snopes.com debunked the rumor that a winner of the $1.5B Powerball Lottery in January 2016 died of a cocaine overdose. This was not the case.

According to the rumor:

1 out of the 3 winners was 32 year old James Hugston. His lump sum pay out was an estimated $327 million dollars. His first large purchase was a multi-million dollar home. James Hugston was then found dead over a kilo of cocaine.

This rumor was "fake news" reported by the website TmzWorldstar.com, which has been known to launch other fictional stories in the past.

Win the Mega Millions Lottery Prize, but not with this Phishing Scam

Mega Millions lottery ticket (source: Flickr CC; by Robert S. Donovan)

The Mega Millions Lottery Phishing Scam Email Reads as Follows:

Attn Lucky Winner,

The Team of Mega Millions is Pleased to officially announce you as the Third place prize winner of the Ten Million ($10,000.000.00) prize draw sponsored by Publishing Clearing House. The total amount to be claimed for Fourth place is Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00). 

Congratulations! You are one lucky winner.

Mega Millions will make all necessary arrangements for you to receive your prize.  Please contact your Prize Claims Agent or representative immediately to avoid delays as you can contact him via e-mail at: (gmorgan734@yahoo.ca) or through telephone listed below.

Your Claims Agent is: George Morgan (+19406031164)

Your Security Code is: H649PC32 As required by US Federal and State laws, your Security code and Prize information must be kept strictly confidential which means that you are precluded from discussing your win with 3rd parties such as (family members, friends and relatives). This is to prevent unlawful tampering and a means to reduce risks of fraud and scams from taking place.

As soon as we verify your identity and Security Code number from you, we will immediately release your total sum through wire transfer into your nominated bank account or as you wish us to remit your fund for you.

Once again, Congratulations from the MEGA MILLIONS team.

Eric D. Burns

Chief Financial Officer

Mega Millions Lottery

Would the Mega Millions Lottery Really Email Me?

Note from Blog Post Author:
It is important to note that no legitimate lottery would ever email the winner of the lottery. The lottery winner usually has to be the one to come forward to claim the lottery prize, otherwise it is forfeited. Lotteries are in no hurry to give away the prize cash. In fact, they would rather that no one claim the winning ticket.

Keep this in mind if you receive bogus emails claiming to be from the Mega Millions Lottery. It is most definitely a phishing scam.

Two Americans Win the Real $400 Mega Millions Jackpot

March 2014 - Two winning tickets for the sixth largest U.S. lottery prize were sold in Florida and Maryland. Florida sold its ticket at Sunoco on Merritt Island and Maryland sold its ticket at Lady's Liquor in La Plata.

The winning numbers were: 11 19 24 33 51 07

This one was the real lottery, and not a scam. Winners have 180 days to claim their winnings.

Robert S. Mueller FBI Phishing Scam

FBI Police Chevy Tahoe

Robert S. Mueller
Director Office of Public Affairs
Anti-Terrorist And Monetary Crimes Division
FBI Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Federal Bureau Of Investigation
J.Edgar Hoover Building
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, Nw Washington, D.C. 20535-0001
www.fbi.gov

From Robert S. Mueller Director Office of Public Affairs

ATTENTION: BENEFICIARY
This e-mail has been issued to you in order to officially inform you that we have completed an investigation on an International Payment in which was issued to you by an International Lottery Company. With the help of our newly developed technology (International Monitoring Network System) we discovered that your e-mail address was automatically selected by an Online Balloting System,
this has legally won you the sum of $2.4 million USD from a Lottery Company outside the United States of America. During our investigation we discovered that your e-mail won the money from an Online Balloting System and we have authorized this winning to be paid to you via INTERNATIONAL CERTIFIED
BANK DRAFT.

Normally, it will take up to 5 business days for an INTERNATIONAL CERTIFIED BANK DRAFT by your local bank. We have successfully notified this lottery company on your behalf that funds are to be drawn from a registered bank within the world wined, so as to enable you cash the check instantly without any delay, henceforth the stated amount of $2.4 million USD has been deposited with IMF. We have
completed this investigation and you are here by approved to receive the winning prize as we have verified the entire transaction to be Safe and 100% risk free, due to the fact that the funds have been deposited with IMF you will be required to settle the following bills directly to the Lottery Agent in-charge of this transaction whom is located in Cotonou, Benin Republic. According to our
discoveries, you were required to pay for the following,

Federal Bureau of Investigation

(1) Deposit Fee's ( IMF INTERNATIONAL CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE )
(2) Shipping Fee's ( This is the charge for shipping the Cashier's Check to
your home address)

The total amount for everything is $98.00 We have tried our possible best to indicate that this $98.00 should be deducted from your winning prize but we found out that the funds have already been deposited IMF and cannot be accessed by anyone apart from you the winner, therefore you will be required to pay the required fee's to the Agent in-charge of this your transaction  In order to
proceed with this transaction, you will be required to contact the agent in-charge ( Mr. Mark Ben ) via e-mail. Kindly look below to find appropriate contact information:

CONTACT AGENT NAME: Mr. Mark Ben
E-MAIL :( inter_monitoryfund@globomail.com )
PHONE:  +229 994 44 317

You will be required to e-mail him with the following information:

FULL NAME:
ADDRESS:
CITY:
STATE:
ZIP CODE:
DIRECT CONTACT NUMBER:
OCCUPATION:

You will also be required to request Western Union or Money Gram details on how to send the required $98.00 in order to immediately ship your lottery prize of $2.4 million USD via INTERNATIONAL CERTIFIED BANK DRAFT from IMF, also include the following transaction code in order for him to immediately identify
this transaction: EA2948-910.

This letter will serve as proof that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is authorizing you to pay the required $98.00 ONLY to Mr. Mark Ben information in which he shall send to you,

Robert S. Mueller
Federal Bureau of Investigation F B I
III Director Office of Public Affairs
Welcome once more to FBI www.fbi.gov

Image credit: Flickr Creative Commons; by JLaw45