Jury awards jailed illegal alien $750,000 lottery ticket

Mar 14, 2012, 8:27 am (37 comments)

Georgia Lottery

After deliberating only 35 minutes Thursday, a Houston County jury awarded ownership of a $750,000 lottery ticket to an illegal alien who claimed he was taken advantage of by the man he had worked for as a day laborer.

Jose Antonio "Tony" Cua-Toc, 27, a native of Guatemala who entered the country illegally in 2000, had filed a lawsuit against Erick Cervantes, a Fort Valley business owner who claimed the winning Jingle Jumbo Bucks lottery ticket from Georgia lottery officials.

(See Illegal alien faces deportation after threatening his boss over lottery prize, Lottery Post, Aug. 24, 2011.)

Cua-Toc's winnings after taxes total $517,500, according to his attorneys. A jury also awarded him $207,000 in attorney's fees, as well as $25,000 in punitive damages.

Cua-Toc purchased the winning ticket Nov. 17, 2010, from the OM Food Mart at 700 Feagin Mill Road in Warner Robins. But because Cua-Toc was undocumented, Erick Cervantes claimed the winnings on Cua-Toc's behalf but then kept the money. Cervantes had claimed he was the rightful owner of the ticket, having given Cua-Toc $20 to purchase the ticket for him.

Juror Shannon Milanek, a 41-year-old nurse from Warner Robins, said the jury's verdict came down to surveillance video from the store where the ticket was purchased. The video shows a smiling Cua-Toc raising his hands in the air after the winning ticket is validated by the store owner.

During closing arguments, Charles R. Adams III, of Fort Valley, one of Cua-Toc's attorneys, had played the video again for jurors. The video also shows Cua-Toc hugging and kissing his girlfriend. He also sends photos of the winning ticket to his friends from his cell phone.

Adams asked jurors while the video played, "Is this the reaction of somebody who bought a ticket for someone else and is going to have to give it to his boss tomorrow?"

The jury did not have any law to go on regarding whether the ticket belonged to the person who purchased it or the person who provided the money to purchase it, Milanek said. Ultimately, jurors decided that the ticket was Cua-Toc's because he made the purchase, Milanek said.

Kelly Burke, one of the Warner Robins attorneys representing Cervantes, had argued that the civil case heard in Houston County Superior Court was about "Mr. Cua-Toc's desperate grab to get a hold of some money."

Adams expressed gratitude for the jury's verdict.

"Only in America can this sort of justice be done," Adams said.

Punitive damages

After the verdict, the court recessed for lunch and then returned for the same jury to hear arguments during a separate hearing on the amount to award in punitive damages.

Jeff Lasseter, the other attorney representing Cervantes, sought "compassion" from jurors — noting testimony during the trial that Cervantes was a generous man and had three children. Lasseter pleaded with jurors not to pile on punitive damages — noting the verdict was punishment enough and asking jurors to award only $1 in damages.

But Adams asked jurors to send "a definite, sharp message and a lasting reminder not only to Erick Cervantes but to all the Erick Cervanteses everywhere."

He argued Erick Cervantes and then-wife Sonia Cervantes were living the American dream and spending the lottery ticket winnings while Cua-Toc sat in jail on a falsified terroristic charge. Cua-Toc, who testified during the four-day trial through court interpreter Nancy A. King, denied threatening the Cervantes family.

Adams, who did not ask the jury for a specific amount to be awarded, did detail about $223,000 in lottery revenues that had been spent by Erick and Sonia Cervantes — including a $41,489 house payment, $47,000 in legal fees to attorneys, a $24,923 van payment, a $43,000 payment to the IRS, a $10,000 gift to the parents of Sonia Cervantes, a $10,000 loan to a friend and other gift amounts to relatives and friends.

Adams told jurors about $300,000 remains of the lottery funds that were frozen by the court Dec. 31, 2010, after the filing of the lawsuit by Cua-Toc against Erick and Sonia Cervantes. Sonia Cervantes was dismissed from the lawsuit during the trial by mutual agreement of attorneys, Burke said.

The aftermath

After the court proceedings, Burke expressed disappointment with the verdict but respect for the jury and the jury system.

He said grounds for appeal are being explored. But Burke also said he has already reached out to Adams about a settlement amount.

Adams said it would be inappropriate to talk about a settlement. Another court hearing is expected to be scheduled on the amount of lottery funds that should be awarded based on Cua-Toc's attorneys' estimate of $517,500 after federal taxes compared with the estimate of $460,000 that also includes the deduction of state taxes as estimated by attorneys for Cervantes.

In instructions to jurors for deliberations, Judge George F. Nunn stated that Georgia law does not prohibit the sale of a lottery ticket to a foreign national over the age of 18. Testimony during the trial indicated that Cua-Toc believed he did not have the proper documentation to receive the ticket proceeds on his own.

Cua-Toc, who had been living in Fort Valley after an Atlanta immigration attorney won him the right in September to stay in the country for the civil case, is currently serving 44 days in the Houston County jail on a Jan. 31 drunken driving conviction.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold was placed against Cua-Toc Jan. 31. Generally, ICE holds are not activated until after adjudication of a local criminal case, which includes sentencing, according to ICE spokesman Vincent Picard.

Cua-Toc was initially jailed Nov. 27, 2010, in Houston County on a terroristic threats charge for allegedly threatening Cervantes and his family. District Attorney George Hartwig previously has stated he does not expect to proceed with the case if Cua-Toc returns to Guatemala. But if Cua-Toc were to remain in the country, Hartwig said, "It's certainly still on the table. The charges are still pending."

Hartwig could not be reached immediately late Thursday afternoon for additional comment in light of the jury's verdict.

Macon Telegraph

Comments

BuyLow's avatarBuyLow

WTG to the lucky winner!!

dallascowboyfan's avatardallascowboyfan

Shame on Cervantes.....No No Glad to see Jose Antonio get his winnings.....Thumbs Up

mcginnin56

Justice for Cua-Toc! Cervantes needs to be paying back for the remainder of his life for this despicable act. If he tries appealing, he is an idiot!   Crazy

TheRightPrice

I REMEMBER this story!!!!

Way to go for the rightful winner

See how greed can destroy people's lives. Cervantes and his wife would have remained married if they hadn't stolen the ticketNo No.

Lesson to all, buy your own tickets! Sign 'em and place them in a reasonably safe place.

Cletu$2's avatarCletu$2

Give him his money and then kick him out of the country.He can then re-enter legally if he so desires.

dpoly1's avatardpoly1

Give him the money and send him back to Guatemala!

sully16's avatarsully16

Is here illegally, and sitting in jail for drunk driving . Deport him.

Investigate Cervantes to see how many illegals work from him, deport them all

slap big fine on Cervantes for each occurrence.

Use part of the lottery money to pay the tax payers back for police, courts, jails.

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

This is the kind of stuff that happens and will continue to happen as long as people are allowed to profit by breaking our laws.

There should be no rewards or benefit of any kind for people who are here illegally.

Criminal activity is only encouraged when you reward it.

I believe any ticket buyer from anywhere in the world should be eligible to win prizes as long as they're here legally. 

RedStang's avatarRedStang

Quote: Originally posted by rdgrnr on Mar 14, 2012

This is the kind of stuff that happens and will continue to happen as long as people are allowed to profit by breaking our laws.

There should be no rewards or benefit of any kind for people who are here illegally.

Criminal activity is only encouraged when you reward it.

I believe any ticket buyer from anywhere in the world should be eligible to win prizes as long as they're here legally. 

I don't get it. They put up a billion dollar fence to stop illegals, but they can play the lotto, win and pay taxes. Most of my spanish co-workers can't even sit on a jury. I agree, the win should be voided and the loophole fixed.

NightStalker's avatarNightStalker

Quote: Originally posted by rdgrnr on Mar 14, 2012

This is the kind of stuff that happens and will continue to happen as long as people are allowed to profit by breaking our laws.

There should be no rewards or benefit of any kind for people who are here illegally.

Criminal activity is only encouraged when you reward it.

I believe any ticket buyer from anywhere in the world should be eligible to win prizes as long as they're here legally. 

I Agree!  Wise words from the Oracle.

VenomV12

You people are such hypocrites. You hate illegal aliens until they are building your houses for cheap, doing your landscaping and housework for cheap etc etc. 

He paid his money for the ticket and he won fair and square, deal with it, and now he has probably paid more taxes than you all have in your lives making him a better citizen than most of you for the country. BTW all you need is to invest $500,000 in this country and you get residency, so he is good. 

Also, we can go to Canada or Europe and play the lottery when we are there and win and we get to keep the money too even if you are just visiting. Changing laws can work both ways buddy.

Halle99's avatarHalle99

Quote: Originally posted by VenomV12 on Mar 14, 2012

You people are such hypocrites. You hate illegal aliens until they are building your houses for cheap, doing your landscaping and housework for cheap etc etc. 

He paid his money for the ticket and he won fair and square, deal with it, and now he has probably paid more taxes than you all have in your lives making him a better citizen than most of you for the country. BTW all you need is to invest $500,000 in this country and you get residency, so he is good. 

Also, we can go to Canada or Europe and play the lottery when we are there and win and we get to keep the money too even if you are just visiting. Changing laws can work both ways buddy.

I Agree!.....He won it, he deserves it.

Bigheadnick's avatarBigheadnick

 You ask me, Neither of them should get the money. HE IS AN ILLEGAL ALIEN, HOW IN HELL IS HE ALLOWED TO WIN THE LOTTERY ?!!!! And his boss is a <snip> too. #1 for hiring an illegal in the first place and #2 for pulling that stunt he pulled.

What should be done:

1-kick his illegal arse back to his country

2-strip his boss of any licenses he carries

3-donate the money to a worthwile charity.

This post has been automatically changed by the Lottery Post computer system to remove inappropriate content and/or spam.

haymaker's avatarhaymaker

Quote: Originally posted by Bigheadnick on Mar 14, 2012

 You ask me, Neither of them should get the money. HE IS AN ILLEGAL ALIEN, HOW IN HELL IS HE ALLOWED TO WIN THE LOTTERY ?!!!! And his boss is a <snip> too. #1 for hiring an illegal in the first place and #2 for pulling that stunt he pulled.

What should be done:

1-kick his illegal arse back to his country

2-strip his boss of any licenses he carries

3-donate the money to a worthwile charity.

This post has been automatically changed by the Lottery Post computer system to remove inappropriate content and/or spam.

Bigheadnick, Good answers all.

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