Winning lottery ticket purchased with stolen credit card

Oct 28, 2005, 5:25 pm (57 comments)

Oregon Lottery

A woman bought a winning lottery ticket worth $1 million with a stolen credit card and could wind up with nothing if convicted, police said.

Christina Goodenow, 38, of White City in southern Oregon faced numerous theft-related charges, forgery and possession of methamphetamine, said authorities, who searched her home Thursday. The card belonged to a deceased relative, they said.

If convicted of any of the charges, Goodenow will not be able to collect prize money from the winning ticket, said police Lt. Tim George.

Oregon Lottery officials refused to discuss specifics of the case because an investigation is still under way.

"I'll be fascinated to see how this shakes out," Lottery spokesman Chuck Baumann said. "In my 12 years with the Oregon Lottery, this is the first time I've encountered something like this."

Goodenow purchased the winning ticket October 9 using a credit card that had belonged to her mother-in-law, who died more than a year ago, police said.

Goodenow traveled to Oregon Lottery headquarters in Salem on October 12 to accept an installment payment of $33,500. The $1 million grand prize is paid out over 20 years.

Detectives began tracking Goodenow on Wednesday after learning that she had used the credit card to purchase several items, including the ticket.

A search warrant served at her home Thursday turned up some methamphetamine, but little money, George said.

"Our investigation is still trying to determine what happened to the $33,500," George said.

Lottery Post Staff

Comments

JMorenoMars

In Ohio and PA, you can't buy lottery tickets with a credit card. I thought all lotteries were that way, I guess not.

bellyache's avatarbellyache

It was dumb of her to purchase lottery tickets with a stolen credit card. To me it's like that guy who used drug money to buy tickets. I don't think she should get to keep it.

Ladyluck2005's avatarLadyluck2005

What an idiot.  She will win the Idiot of the year award! Bang Head

Rip Snorter

Losers have a way of keeping on being losers.  Human genius takes some strange turns trying to keep itself from being spotted.

Jack

DoubleDown

Duh !!!!!!!

Dupe Alert

 

Homer Simpson : Doh !!!

jeffrey's avatarjeffrey

That money should be used in a drug rehab instead of a senator's pocket

 

KY Floyd's avatarKY Floyd

In Ohio and PA, you can't buy lottery tickets with a credit card. I thought all lotteries were that way, I guess not.

Even if the law says you can't use credit, that doesn't mean it won't happen. Every now and then when I've bought gas and a ticket the clerk has asked if I wanted the ticket on the credit card, too. I don't remember exactly when the law changed to make it illegal to buy tickets with credit, but I'm pretty sure I've charged the tickets a couple of times since it happened.

I'd be curious to see some info on how the cops know the ticket was put on the credit card. This may also develop into the most interesting lawsuit yet over ownership of a winning ticket. If the credit card company was charged and paid for the ticket it seems that they've got a reasonable claim to ownership, and it certainly won't be a he said, she said argument.

 

mylollipop's avatarmylollipop

Sad WaveySad WaveySad WaveySad WaveySad WaveySad Wavey.  I am so sorry for you.  Hope that the $$$$$$$$$ you received already did not go to someone thriving on the weaknesses of others.  Addiction is tuff stuff and the stuff she is reportedly on!....

sirbrad's avatarsirbrad

If she was smart she would have used a cash advance.

Ladyluck2005's avatarLadyluck2005

In Ohio and PA, you can't buy lottery tickets with a credit card. I thought all lotteries were that way, I guess not.

Even if the law says you can't use credit, that doesn't mean it won't happen. Every now and then when I've bought gas and a ticket the clerk has asked if I wanted the ticket on the credit card, too. I don't remember exactly when the law changed to make it illegal to buy tickets with credit, but I'm pretty sure I've charged the tickets a couple of times since it happened.

I'd be curious to see some info on how the cops know the ticket was put on the credit card. This may also develop into the most interesting lawsuit yet over ownership of a winning ticket. If the credit card company was charged and paid for the ticket it seems that they've got a reasonable claim to ownership, and it certainly won't be a he said, she said argument.

 

Maybe a family member snitched on them.  Or maybe the woman used the card before to purchase things & there was an alert on the card.

BabyJC's avatarBabyJC

Now I've heard everything!

TonyB

That money should be used in a drug rehab instead of a senator's pocket

 

It should go to the real owner of the credit card.

KyMystikal's avatarKyMystikal

In Kentucky you can use a Visa/Mastercard Check Card to pay for lottery tickets but it has to be made as a debit not credit purchase.

Chewie

I am confident, if you steal my card, and try to buy a lottery ticket, you will have exceeded the spending limit.

LckyLary

Let's assume that the tickets were Quick Pick. Timing is EVERYTHING. A split second earlier or later would have resulted in nonwinning numbers. A timeline in which the tickets were purchased with cash or a legitimate credit card would have affected the exact timing of the RNG in the machine, and there would be no story here. She was just not meant to win! A major lesson from God not to live that kind of life.

fja's avatarfja

the lottery giveth and the lottery taketh away!

smd173

Sad WaveySad WaveySad WaveySad WaveySad WaveySad Wavey.  I am so sorry for you.  Hope that the $$$$$$$$$ you received already did not go to someone thriving on the weaknesses of others.  Addiction is tuff stuff and the stuff she is reportedly on!....

Too late...

"A search warrant served at her home Thursday turned up some methamphetamine, but little money, George said."

smd173

That money should be used in a drug rehab instead of a senator's pocket

 

It should go to the real owner of the credit card.

Well it will have to go to her estate then...

"Goodenow purchased the winning ticket October 9 using a credit card that had belonged to her mother-in-law, who died more than a year ago, police said."

CASH Only

There's nothing Goodenow about a lottery prize that doesn't have a cash option.

JAG331

LOL. Cash Only, now that was funny.

Maybe Ms. Goodenow should go visit Steven West for advice, since they both live in Medford, OR.

CASH Only

jag:

Don't forget OR has an online version of Lose for Life. Perhaps Ms Bad-enow plays it too.

Chewie

Let's assume that the tickets were Quick Pick. Timing is EVERYTHING. A split second earlier or later would have resulted in nonwinning numbers. A timeline in which the tickets were purchased with cash or a legitimate credit card would have affected the exact timing of the RNG in the machine, and there would be no story here. She was just not meant to win! A major lesson from God not to live that kind of life.

Not really a major lesson from God. A major lesson from God is when he kills every one that doesn't agree with him. Forgot the thing about the Ark already? Or the Egyptian male babies?

gargil

As long as it is legal in her state to use a credit card to purchase the ticket, then she will certainly have a great lawsuit if they refuse her the money.  She will get much more than a million!  Even though she was breaking the law with the use of the card, and she may have other problems like drug use, that has nothing to do with winning the money.  She was smart enough not to keep her first winning installment in the house, the Cops would have probably pocketed it when they searched her house.  Good for her!  Hope she winds up in the end with ten million! 

KY Floyd's avatarKY Floyd

As long as it is legal in her state to use a credit card to purchase the ticket, then she will certainly have a great lawsuit if they refuse her the money.  She will get much more than a million!  Even though she was breaking the law with the use of the card, and she may have other problems like drug use, that has nothing to do with winning the money.  She was smart enough not to keep her first winning installment in the house, the Cops would have probably pocketed it when they searched her house.  Good for her!  Hope she winds up in the end with ten million! 

You seem to be a bit confused. If somebody throws away a winning ticket and somebody else finds it and claims the prize the law may be a bit vague about ownership, but the law is crystal clear when somebody buys something with a stolen credit card. If you buy something with a stolen credit card you don't own it. Period. If she's convicted of illegally using the card then she doesn't own the ticket or anything else she bought with the card, and if you don't own a lottery ticket there's not a chance in hell you're entitled to any prize  based on that ticket. If she's not convicted then she might get the money.  About the only safe bet in this story is that she doesn't have much of a case for a lawsuit based on anything reported in the story.

KY Floyd's avatarKY Floyd

That money should be used in a drug rehab instead of a senator's pocket

 

It should go to the real owner of the credit card.

The real owner of a credit card is *always* the company that issues the card, and they're also the one that pays the merchant if a purchase turns out to be fraudulent. If a credit card company pays for merchandise that was purchased fraudulently, I expect they'd be the rightful owner  if the merchandise is recovered. Unless the person the card is issued to pays for any fraudulent charges on the card there's no reason at all that they would have any claim on merchandise bought by somebody using the card without authorization.

Since the woman the card was issued to had died more than a year earlier, I'd guess that somebody was making the minimum monthly payments if the card had been used during that time, because the card issuer isn't likely to authorize new charges if an outstanding bill hasn't been paid for several months. If the daughter in law can show that she was making payments it might save her from a conviction for stealing the card and for forgery, but I doubt she'd win a suit claiming that she's entitled to the winnings unless she can also prove that she was an authorized user of the card.

TheGameGrl's avatarTheGameGrl

Quote in part from K Y Floyd: " If the credit card company was charged and paid for the ticket it seems that they've got a reasonable claim to ownership, and it certainly won't be a he said, she said argument."

Inaccurate statement. Read any credit card agreement. Creditors do not have a clause proclaiming ownership of items/products. Otherwise I'd be glad to put all my utility bills on a credit card and let the credit card companies claim ownership of the bills! :)  what a credit card company does have the right to do is limit its usage when it comes to gaming/lottery.

I side with fair is fair. The ticket is a winner and the person followed the rules of filing properly.

gargil

I  agree.  Credit card companies do not lay claim to items purchased with their cards.  In addition, if there is nothing in writing in their credit card agreement stating rules regarding the purchase of lottery/gaming tickets, and there is no written law in the state where the ticket was purchased prohibiting tickets being purchased by a credit card (not just what the Police say), then she can certainly fight it and win.  She now has the money to pay the credit card company back the money owed to them.  If the credit card company prosecutes her, then they won't get their money.  As far as what the Police said about her not being able to keep the money if she is convicted, does anyone remember Martha Stewart?  She was convicted and served time in prison for her wrong doings, and she was permitted to keep the money she made as a result of it, and was not made to pay back the people that lost money due to her wrong doings.  She even was permitted to keep making millions while she was in jail.  Another thing that doesn't make sense, the article said that she bought the ticket on October 9th, and the Police began tracking her this past Wednesday after she bought some items with the credit card including the ticket.  How did they find out?  And why didn't they track her before now?  We will never know the truth, of course.  But we must all remember that the Police do not make the laws, we are not a "Police State".  Providing once again that there are no written laws prohibiting the purchase, then there is no question.  As the saying goes "Possession is nine tenths of the Law".  The person who is in possession of the ticket can claim the winnings, whether it was found, stolen, bought, sold, etc.  Just because the woman has a bad record or a drug problem, that has nothing to do with the winning ticket.  Perhaps God sent her the ticket to turn her life around.  I hope she does, and if need be, I hope she gets the biggest lawyer (she can now afford it) and takes the case to national limits if need be.  I even heard on the local news that Jack Whittacker that won all that money a while ago has had run ins with the Police accusing him of drunk driving.  It may be true, and it may not be.  Wake up America before it is too late.  Remember a few years ago with Zsa Zsa Gabor?  Remember what happened to her?  I truly hope Ms. Goodenow takes a few dollars of her winnings and buys (for cash) some more tickets and hits a bigger jackpot.  Then we will see what the Police have to say about that!

shalini

I am confident, if you steal my card, and try to buy a lottery ticket, you will have exceeded the spending limit.

that is so funny....hahahaha

Iesha Kelly

In Kentucky you can use a Visa/Mastercard Check Card to pay for lottery tickets but it has to be made as a debit not credit purchase.

it being a debit card changes the whole ball game, because a debit card is not a credit card.  a stolen debit card is bad.  a stolen credit card is also bad. but they are not the same theft.

 

i don't think companies should accept payment in credit cards.  too much potential for abuse. way too much potential for abuse.  cash only is the only way to go.

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