CALGARY — It will be up to the courts to decide if a Calgary-area man's amazing run of lotto luck will continue.
Seguro Ndabene of Airdrie, just north of Calgary, has already won the lottery four times in the past five years — including two wins of $1 million, another of $100,000 and a fourth prize of $50,000.
But his biggest win of all — $17 million in a Super 7 draw back in January — is being disputed.
Ndabene's claim as sole winner is being questioned by a man who alleges the winning ticket was part of a group purchase and he wants a share.
According to court documents, Tony Koprnicky, also of Airdrie, is the brother-in-law of the woman who runs the lottery kiosk where Ndabene purchased his winning ticket.
Lawyer Adam Ailsby wrote in an affidavit on behalf of the Western Canada Lottery Corp. that Koprnicky contacted the agency to say he had been a participant "in an open group-buying agreement that was being run by the lottery kiosk in the Airdrie Co-Op store."
Roll began in 2005
Ndabene's run of extreme good luck began in October 2005 when the native of Mozambique was living in Yellowknife and working for the Nishi-Khon Forestry Service. He waited eight months before claiming the $1-million prize.
Ndabene, who has a diploma in business administration, said he had been playing lotteries for years and had no advice for other players except to wait for the machines that determine the winning numbers to make a mistake.
"If I had the formula, I would be winning every week," he joked at the time. "I'm glad I won something big. I got back most of my money I've invested over the years."
There have been numerous multiple winners on the Prairies, said Andrea Marantz from Western Canada Lottery Corp., who noted it's impossible to calculate the odds of one player winning five times.
"It's an unanswerable question because he won on different games and each game has different odds. You also can't possibly do any kind of an odds calculation unless you know how many tickets somebody has," she explained.
The lottery corporation routinely investigates wins of more than $10,000, which automatically includes winners of multiple major prizes.
Asked courts
It tried to work its way through this convoluted case but ultimately asked the courts to decide who gets the money.
"We are not a court of law and when there are competing interests and competing prize claims, we don't have a vehicle like the court has where everyone can present their side of the story and it can get a fair and orderly hearing," said Marantz.
Ndabene's lawyer expressed his frustration in an e-mail to lawyers for the corporation in July, pointing out Koprnicky's complaint didn't come to light until after his client was already named the winner.
Is Seguro that Lucky or did he Defraud the other Members of his Lottery Pool: If he Plays alot: He may be that Lucky!
If I was that lucky like this man was, I wouldn't bother with a lottery pool!!!! And he already had the money from winning multiple times to pay for his own tickets by himself anyway!!!!! He should have stayed away from being in a lottery pool especially with his own family!!!!
"According to court documents, Tony Koprnicky, also of Airdrie, is thebrother-in-law of the woman who runs the lottery kiosk where Ndabenepurchased his winning ticket." ".......that Koprnicky contacted the agency to say he had been a participant"in an open group-buying agreement that was being run by the lotterykiosk in the Airdrie Co-Op store."
Didn't say the winner Seguro Ndabene was a relative of Tony Koprnicky who's trying to claim part of the winnings.
Claim sounds fishy and opportunistic on the surface with skimpy information provided. Also wonder if an open group-buying agreement run by a lottery kiosk is legal under Canadian law?
Koprnicky contacted the agency to say he had been a participant "in an open group-buying agreement that was being run by the lottery kiosk in the Airdrie Co-Op store."
Sounds like this Tony Koprnicky is trying to run a scam. The results of the case may well depend on the court's interpretation of an "open group-buying agreement", did it mean buying a ticket at this kiosk entitled him to a share of the winnings of others who also bought tickets at the kiosk. It's funny no one else in the group made a claim nor is he speaking on behalf of the group he claims to have been a part.
I agree. Something seems fishy about the claim. By the sound of the story, Mr. Ndabene is a lucky man, who won a few different lotterys over the years and didn't need a lottery group. If there really was a group, then they should have had, all the info in writing and copies of the tickets or something. It's easy to say later on, after someone has already won, that this was a group thing. So yeah, I am thinking this is a scam, unless this Tony guy offers up proof that this ticket was bought for the lottery group.
This story has the stench of greed all over it. One of my kids could've come up with a more convincing tall tale than Tony Koprincky. I bet if an investigation was done on Koprincky and the woman that runs the lottery kiosk there would be a ton of ummmmmm's there. This reeks of a con game and I wish Mr. Ndabene all the luck in the world. I hope he win his case and another jackpot to boot. If it is discovered that Koprincky and family are lying then I hope they get some good jail time.
"I was happy to win big and get back most of what I put in".
A Million Dollars!!!!!!!!!!! That is a sick habit if he has spent that much on the lottery. This is a man that will gamble it all away at some point
It's stories like these that make you wary of getting into a pool unless it's family or extremely close friends. Money can change some people real quick.
Honor and loyalty can be left in the dust. One of these parties is a real snake.
rdgrnr you are so right..Like they say "The love of money is the root of all evil"..
man its like australia is the nirvana of lotto. here theres a pool system where ea member of the pool get a ticket worth and having claim on the prize equal to the shares of the pool.
ie,
10 people pool so 10 tickets are printed.
ea has a claim for 1/10th the prize.
agents here sell em, and people dont even know who else is in the same pool.
I always play for my wife and myself !
If I would win - I am sure that the "entitled" would come out of the woodwork to "spread the wealth" !
This is not to say that I would not be generous - but only to whom I choose !
I do not claim anyone else's "piece of the pie" even though I am from very modest means !
Feeling entitled is not the culture of my family.
Always play on your own and ................. there is NO question as to who owns the ticket !!!!!
From what little is being said here, it seems as if the man who had the ticket is the only one who won and the other claim is false.
The one who buys and holds the ticket wins, there does not appear to have been an agreement, there is no such proof.
The man already won 4 times, there is no reason why he could not had won a fifth time, nobody else came to claim the other 4 prizes before right?, Not until he won $17 000 000.
Accordint to Calgary Sun:
http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alberta/2009/11/03/11614146-sun.html
All that stands between one of the luckiest men in Canada and $17 million is some paperwork.
But Airdrie's Seguro Ndabene is still miffed it's taken so long to get his winnings from the Western Canada Lottery Corp.
And Ndabene vowed yesterday to take the WCLC to court for the mental anguish it caused him after he claimed his prize in February, by far the biggest of five jackpots he's won in five years.
"I won rightfully," Ndabene said outside court, moments after a Court of Queen's Bench judge said he would get his winnings once he drafted up a proper court order.
"I played the ticket, they advertised the money, I paid for the ticket, I won the money and they refused to pay me right away, they have to pay for that," he said.
"I'm asking for (damages for) the torture, mental torture ... for all these delays for no reason."
Ndabene claimed his prize in February, when his numbers matched those in the Jan. 16, Super 7 draw.
But when a member of a "group buy agreement" said the ticket should be shared, WCLC turned the dispute over to the court.
Tony Koprnicky later abandoned his claim on the prize, but because other members of the group buy agreement were also notified, they too had to determine whether they wanted to make a claim.
Since none showed up in court after being given a chance to cross-examine Ndabene on his ticket last Friday, Master John Prowse said the money was his.
"The order will be signed," Prowse said, telling Ndabene to return this morning. Since October 2004, when he won more than $1 million, Ndabene has been on an unbelievable lottery winning streak.
In subsequent draws he won $100,000, $57,000, and $1.3 million, before his latest jackpot, he said.
"They shouldn't torture a person like me just 'cause I won several times," the native of Mozambique said.
Yves Blanchette, who sold the winning ticket at his Airdrie Co-op lotto kiosk was happy for his customer.
"I like ... his horseshoes," Blanchette said.
It was Blanchette's brother-in-law Koprnicky whose claim stalled Ndabene collecting his prize, but the vendor said he's glad his relative came to his senses and dropped the case.
An apologetic Koprnicky told the Sun last week he had "made a mistake and assumed something, it just wasn't there."
You know I am not surprise about this...The movie: "Blood Diamond" look i know i am a little crazy but i strongly believe that that movie is about real "lottery diamonds" even though it may not seeing that way...i am talking about state of the eart wheels designs or something...