EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — A Wisconsin woman who won the lottery will not be receiving all her winnings due to thousands of dollars of outstanding debts.
Thursday it was announced that Valerie Diestelmeier won the first top prize of $100,000 playing the Incredible Crossword Scratch game.
Diestelmeier purchased her winning ticket at the Mega Holiday on Water Street in Eau Claire.
However, Patty Mayers with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue says she'll have to pay off thousands of dollars in unpaid fines before she sees any of the prize money
"When a lottery winner wins $600 or more we automatically check that person for any state debt that might be outstanding and if any are discovered the winnings are used to offset that state debt before that winning balance will go to that individual," explained Mayers.
Diestelmeier is finding herself in that position after the Eau Claire County Courthouse says she owes more than $11,000 in fines from around 40 different court cases.
The Wisconsin Lottery says it has the standard policy in place to make sure it catches individuals like Diestelmeier and cover their state debt.
"The Wisconsin Lottery, its mission is to provide property tax relief," added Mayers. "It's very important to us that despite the fact that it's a fun game to play, that the lottery is a fun form of entertainment for a lot of people, we want to make sure that if indeed they have any outstanding state debt that those are covered before the winnings are awarded."
The lottery says winners like Diestelmeier should receive any winnings leftover after their debt is paid.
Local news reporters visited Diestelmeier's home during the day to see if she had any comment but nobody appeared to be home. Friday night the winner and her husband said while Diestelmeier has pending fines, it's not important. They say winning the lottery was a good thing.
They'll clear up their debt with the State and have some left to enjoy.
Owing the state 11k on 40 different cases is quite perplexing. If any of those were traffic citations, she should have had her DL suspended or a warrant outstanding for her arrest.
Valerie should not be in the least surprised. The IRS does the same thing.You owe them outstanding tax money, they going to come for it. Why should the State be any different? This is common knowledge, but there is a reason most States want you to claim $600 and up by fillng in a form. They want to see whether you owe back child support, outstanding DMV violation fines etc.etc.* You, had better have all your "i" dotted & "t" crossed before claiming your prize. IOW * in other words- you better have your S*** together.
Valerie's running days are over with. Forty different court cases? Someone there didn't do their homework; you'd think she would have been arrested long ago. Then again these could be minor infractions.
Good job Wisconsin lottery...who knows she might get even less if this does not include court costs. Enjoy what's left!
Valerie
......You need to adhere to the law,pay your respective debts to society....and stay ta heck out of trouble.
Congrats on your win.
Could ole Val have had an epiphany after realizing how much she won and thought " I am gonna go pay all that court stuff off, because I have won more than I owe" ?... She might have !!!....buuuuuuuuuuuuuut my money is on she wasn't aware that they would take that out of her winnings.....After all,she racked up $11,000 in pending fines... Which leads me to believe she is a different type of CSI..........A Crayon Sharpening Instructor...... time will tell
So I guess some don't read what is mentioned here in the article. She had to pay up unpaid debts which actually lead into a credit report.
If that is the case, then the lottery commission in that state is doing their jobs. Pay up whatever debts and move on. Simple as that.
I had to read over what you commented on. Correct. Let the one's that are owed unpaid debts get their money and then what she owes to the govt or even anything out standing put it in acct or something and then she won't have to worry about it. It's better to be safe then sorry. I agree with you on what you stated.
Take out what she owes and cut her a check for the remainder. But the state issuing public statements like this and the press knocking on her door is just creepy.
I would honestly put the money some place for the next tax season and have it reserved for whomever she has to pay out too. Lesson learned. She thought she could get away with whatever and actually agree with the state decision. This way she has nothing to hide. People need to be careful what they do.
LMFAO!!! She might not get anything. What if some places add interests to her problems and headaches!
If the winnings are $100k, then taxes taken out I don't see this being worth it.
You're absolutely right. So basically she sounds stupid. When she won the ticket she should have known better. Agreed to your statement. Why didn't they do anything?
Maybe they are thinking something will happen and look what happened. Worse comes to worse call the 1800 gambling hotline number and put her name in it then she really gets screwed.
Trial by social media is a phrase popular in the late 20th century and early 21st century to describe the impact of social media coverage on a person's reputation by creating a widespread perception of guilt or innocence of a person without a trial and without knowing all the facts.
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This situation shows how some winners evade their debts and sell their tickets to another who will buy it at a discounted price. This has been discussed in other recent posts. The buyers say it is luck when confronted with State Lottery records.