A California woman has sued her son and accused him of making off with her $51 million Mega Millions lottery ticket, and then racking up expenses on houses, cars, and cash gifts.
The legal dispute between Etta May Urquhart, 76, and her son Ronnie Orender, who had been a truck driver, centers on who owns the ticket. She admits he signed it, but she is the one who lottery officials acknowledge bought the slip of paper.
In May 2011, Urquhart went to her local Mobil gas station in Bakersfield, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles, to buy a few lottery tickets with her retirement income, as was her habit, according to the lawsuit filed last week in California state court.
She later checked her Mega Millions ticket against the numbers in a newspaper, and saw she had won, the lawsuit said. Urquhart and her husband, Orender's stepfather, later went with Orender to the Mobil station where they met with lottery officials.
"Lottery officials requested the winning ticket be signed," the lawsuit said. "Etta May was overcome with emotions, she could barely talk and her body was shaking badly. Given her condition, Etta May asked Orender to sign the ticket on her behalf."
But as it turns out Orender "signed the winning ticket in his own name and not on behalf of Etta May," the lawsuit said.
Later, he suggested that due to the "magnitude of the situation, and the likely attention and pressures" from family, friends and strangers, Etta May should "tell others that she bought the ticket for Orender," the lawsuit said.
She agreed to the plan, according to the lawsuit, filed April 23 in Kern County. Orender ultimately opted to take a lump sum cash payment of $32.3 million, and planned to "take care of his parents and other family as well," a statement last year from Mega Millions said.
The statement also quoted Orender's stepfather, Bob Urquhart, joking that "we're going to spend it," in response to a question about plans for the money. Bob Urquhart is a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit filed by his wife.
Last year's Mega Millions statement about the winning ticket said, "It was actually Orender's mother, Etta Urquhart, who took his $2 and bought two Mega Millions tickets at Stuarts Oak Street Mobil in Bakersfield."
The lawsuit said Orender invested the winnings and receives monthly income, and that he spent $2.3 million to buy four houses in Bakersfield. He also bought 10 vehicles and made "cash gifts of several hundred thousands of dollars."
The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages of at least $32.3 million, the sum of the cash prize Orender claimed, in addition to punitive damages. Orender could not be reached for comment on Friday.
Russ Lopez, a spokesman for the California Lottery said he had no comment on the lawsuit.
She went into a feeding frenzy with an UNSIGNED TICKET?
HRH Todd - You should facilitate a course.
Why did she feel she had to go public (Dog and Pony Show)? If she was that overwhlemed she should have taken a few weeks to confer with consultants (investment/tax/legal). It will prove a hell of a lot cheaper than the attorneys they have representing them now!
Plan to win and have a plan!!!
What a dysfunctional family!!!
This story should be good for a few laughs as it plays out.I'm guessing that we'll see more of these folks on "How The Lottery Ruined My Life."
"Why did she feel she had to go public (Dog and Pony Show)?"
There's something really bizarre about that part of the story. There's no way the lottery had her doing the publicity thing before the ticket was claimed through the usual process, so why was she meeting lottery officials at the gas station with a ticket that wasn't signed, and therefore must not have been presented to lottery officials yet? I saw another article that makes it sound like she checked the numbers and then went to the gas station, perhaps to confirm the numbers ar have a clerk check the ticket. That makes it sound like she bumped into the lottery officials by chance, which might explain them telling her she should sign the ticket. That still leaves the question of why she would have the son sign it instead of her husband, or why she couldn't wait for a few minutes. There's also the question of why these lottery officials would tell her to sign the ticket and then stand around while her son signs his name on it.
At any rate, if her story is true there should be some lottery officials who can confirm most of her version.
If I had a son like that I'd knock him into next week.
She later checked her Mega Millions ticket against the numbers in a newspaper, and saw she had won, the lawsuit said.
Once Mrs. Urquhart saw that this was a winning ticket, why didn't Mrs. Urquhart and/or Mr. Urquhart, her husband sign the ticket?
Urquhart and her husband, Orender's stepfather, later went with Orender to the Mobil station where they met with lottery officials.
"Lottery officials requested the winning ticket be signed," the lawsuit said. "Etta May was overcome with emotions, she could barely talk and her body was shaking badly. Given her condition, Etta May asked Orender to sign the ticket on her behalf."
Why did the meeting take place at the Mobil station instead of the lottery offices? So not understanding that.
Why didn't Mrs. Urquhart tell her husband to sign the ticket? After all Mr. Urquhart (husband) was there with them and it would've made sense for the husband to sign the ticket since the wife was too emotional to sign it. Or better yet, wait until the wife had calmed down enough to sign the tickert herself.
But as it turns out Orender "signed the winning ticket in his own name and not on behalf of Etta May," the lawsuit said.
Later, he suggested that due to the "magnitude of the situation, and the likely attention and pressures" from family, friends and strangers, Etta May should "tell others that she bought the ticket for Orender," the lawsuit said.
She agreed to the plan, according to the lawsuit, filed April 23 in Kern County. Orender ultimately opted to take a lump sum cash payment of $32.3 million, and planned to "take care of his parents and other family as well," a statement last year from Mega Millions said.
Why did Mr. and Mrs. Urquhart agree to Mr. Orender's plan instead of correcting the mistake at the lottery office? Had the Urquharts spoke up once the mistake was discovered, the problem could have been corrected and things could've been back to normal by now.
What it sounds like, PERDUE, is that she had complete faith and trust in her son.
And then found out he's really a jerk.
But Ridge, WHY didn't she ask her HUSBAND to sign the ticket?
He was RIGHT THERE!!
The husband could've signed her name and they would'nt be in this mess.
Why not wait until she calmed down and sign the ticket herself?
It's not like they only had 10 minutes left before the ticket expired?
She could've signed the ticket when she checked the numbers in the newspaper.
All she had to do is flip the ticket over and sign her name.
This woman doesn't strike me as someone who's short mentally.
Trust or no trust girlie girl wouldn't be in this mess if she had signed the ticket herself.
This story is like the Willis-Willis nightmare all over again.
If she raised him, she should have known he was a jerk. People don't just all of a certain become a jerk.
That's true... but aren't there degrees of jerk-dom? My eldest child personifies ... everything I raised my kids NOT to be, but REALLY didn't show her true colors until she had some of what she considered "power", then she really went full-throttle... and no one expected what happened.
So what could have happened is that mom knew his proclivities, just not the degree to which he would succumb; or mom was just sadly blind to who/what her child was. In the latter case, YIKES! why oh WHY didn't she have her dh sign!!! (that has to be the question that she continually has going around in her brain. not to mention the question that her dh is continually asking her morning/noon and night!)
A Mother's love is blind. Happens all the time. She got her eyes opened now, that's for sure. However, I bet she is still making excuses for him.
As to why didn't she have her husband sign? It could be that she wanted her children to be the ones to inherit later, not his. In this world of extended families, there exists a conundrum for older remarrieds regarding inheritance for their children from earlier marriages. Maybe she does not get along with his kids from an earlier marriage and did not wish for them to benefit from her winnings.
Lessons learned: don't go to the place you bought the ticket to verify winnings. Verify yourself, then go to the lottery office after you have consulted an attorney, et al.
That sorry no good Ba*****!!!!!
I think it's easy to analyze from our perspective and maybe she would have shared our opinions if she wasn't at ground zero of this event.
I think she's probably just a very excitable woman who wasn't thinking clearly at the time. Things were moving too fast for her. In hindsight she'd probably do all the things you suggest and she's probably driving herself nuts now with second-guessing and regrets.
Maybe there's some kind of friction between her husband and her son that affected her decisions too, who knows?
It's just hard to imagine a mother and son not being able to come to terms on this without involving a bunch of sleazy lawyers. They're probably licking their chops on this one.
LOL... I would be in jail...
I think we've all known jerks who had mothers who thought they did no wrong, who thought the sun rose at their beck and call.
I know I have.
Sign it when you buy it.
That would have definitely solved this problem! (and welcome to Lottery Post mrylndw)
Thank you!
Some people do even when they are buying them as gifts for others.
Money changes people RJOh
I have never understood that mentality. One of my colleagues got a 'gift' of a lottery ticket that was signed by the giver. We all kinda looked at it perplexed.
What kind of a gift is that? One with strings?
Welcome to the LP mrylndw
This dude had a plan!
If he had his mother's interest at heart he would have ensured she signed that ticket before they left to meet with lottery officials. Instead he was the one according to the report that discouraged her from signing it so she could avoid the barage of requests that would come as a result of this very PUBLIC WIN
He's an opportunist with no scruples and mother or stranger he would take advantage of any chance that came his way. Here he is living HIGH OFF THE HOG and clearly wasn't doing any thing to ensure ease of living for the ACTUAL WINNER
Yep!!!!
here comes another story about how winning the lottery broke up a family
but how could a son do that to his own mother?
Lottery officials witnessed the signing of the ticket and were present when Etta May was too shocked to function. There are people who
saw what happened that day. I think the son is in for a rude awakening.
Her husband probably thought it was a good idea for her son to sign it also. Really, in all that excitement, who is thinking about the
technicalities? It's easy to say: don't do this, don't do that but the thrill of it all and trust in family sometimes makes all of what you should
be doing and thinking a blur. Many times when a person thinks never in a million years...they should be thinking I wouldn't put it past them.
They probably trusted it would work out in the end and probably didn't think anything like this would happen. Instead, the son now has control
of the money.
I'm sure when all the details come out, a reversal of fortune will take place.
Money doesn't change people as much as it exposes their character.
It been said that money and power corrupt people but I think corrupt people are exposed when they get money and power.
There use to be a TV ad that said "Don't leave your keys in your car and help a good kid go bad" and I would think "what 'good kid' goes around looking for keys in cars to steal?"