Dec 22, 2007 4:24 pm US/Eastern
Friends Fight Over Yankee Swap Lottery Ticket
Court Complaint: Friend Backs Out On Verbal Agreement To Split Winnings
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
What started out as a friendly holiday Yankee swap among friends, has turned into a potentially ugly court battle over a winning $200,000 scratch ticket.
The Massachusetts State Lottery Commission said 39-year-old Franco Sapia is taking his friend, 55-year-old Brenda White, to court over the winning ticket that Sapia claims the two were supposed to split via a verbal agreement should the ticket be a winner.
According to Sapia, the scratch ticket was part of a Yankee swap at a holiday party in Haverhill on Dec. 15, in which the friends swapped gifts and each person had the option of swapping for gifts with other people.
"There was an agreement. We shook hands. I offered money as well," Sapia said.
Officials said the scratch ticket was first picked by Sapia but was then swapped by White, who told him she would split the money with Sapia should the ticket turn out to be a winning one. Court documents say that there were a number of witnesses at the party who can account for the verbal agreement.
The ticket turned out to be a winner, at which point White indicated she would not split the winnings, according to the complaint.
The $5 lottery ticket was purchased from Skelley's State Line on Main Street in Haverhill, though it's unclear who at the party actually purchased the ticket.
According to a Lottery spokesperson, the winner is the person who signs the back of the ticket.
A judge has frozen White's winnings pending the complaint.
In the meantime, Massachusetts State Lottery officials said the agency will wait until the court makes a decision in the case before handing out the winnings.
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