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An unemployed mechanic in Florida hit a $10,000 jackpot on an instant lottery ticket and was left empty-handed when the state stripped him of the winnings, claiming he actually owed them thousands of dollars.
Joe Cheung was told that the Department of Economic Opportunity was keeping his earnings because he was overpaid when he received unemployment assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cheung had a debt balance of $7,800, but said he had applied for forgiveness and even had proof that overpayments had been waived.
However, it took Cheung months to sort out the ordeal with the apartment, and only now with the help of Local News 10 that you are finally making your profit.
Joe Cheung, an unemployed mechanic in Florida, won $10,000 on an instant ticket, but the state claimed he owed him money because he was overpaid in COVID-19 relief funds.
Cheung said he was in disbelief when he scanned his ticket and found that he had won. He received a message congratulating him and directed him to the lottery office to claim the cash from him.
Cheung made calls and left voicemails between December and early February, trying to get an answer about his winnings.
“I called, left six voicemails, didn’t answer, and then the next thing I called back, you wait for four hours and then the line goes dead,” he told Local 10 News.
But when Local 10 News took up his case and contacted the Department of Economic Opportunity, he received a phone call just a few days later to tell him that everything had been settled.
“They said there was a mistake and it would take four to six weeks to get the check back,” he said. She said it was a mistake.
It’s a huge relief for Cheung, who has been waiting months for the earnings. He said that he was incredulous when he scanned his ticket and discovered that he had won. He received a message congratulating him and directed him to the lottery office to claim the cash from him.
Cheung said he immediately went to the lottery office in Miami Lakes where he tried to claim his ticket money. But he left empty-handed. Until now.
“Without you, I can’t get the money back,” he told the outlet. ‘I really appreciate Channel 10 for helping me.’
Cheung, who is unemployed, explained that the lottery winnings will mean a lot to him when he finally gets that money. He said he would use the money to make the car payments and pay off his mortgage.
Cheung said he immediately went to the Miami Lakes lottery office with his winning ticket and tried to claim his money. But he was left empty-handed after being told that he actually owed money.
Instead, the lottery office gave him a form that said he owed money to the state, specifically the Department of Economic Opportunity for unemployment compensation.
Cheung had a debt balance of $7,800, but said he applied for forgiveness and even had proof (pictured) that the overpayments he received had been forgiven.
It took Cheung months to sort out the ordeal with the apartment, and only now, with the help of Local 10 News, is he finally making his profit.
Cheung is not the only Florida lottery winner to have been through this ordeal.
Between January 2022 and January 2023, there were 9,804 lottery winners statewide who received a letter stating they owed money, most of them owed to the Department of Economic Opportunity, according to the Florida Lottery.
The Department of Economic Opportunity stated that “overpayment procedures like this are in place to mitigate fraud” and have “prevented more than $23.2 billion in fraud,” Local 10 News reported.
In a statement to the news outlet, the Department of Economic Opportunity wrote:
‘An overpayment occurs when a claimant receives benefits for which they were not eligible as a result of a variety of factors. To be clear, we realize that an account being marked as an overpayment does not mean that an overpayment has occurred.
In fact, many overpayments occur when the claimant has not completed an overpayment waiver. This can be resolved by claimants completing the Overpayment Waiver Request Form on their Reemployment Assistance accounts. Viewers and readers who have an overpayment on their Reemployment Assistance accounts are encouraged to learn more about resolving a Reemployment Assistance overpayment at www.FloridaJobs.org/Overpayments.’