Illegal Immigrant Allowed To Collect Winning $750,000 Lottery Ticket

Illegal Immigrant Allowed To Collect Winning $750,000 Lottery Ticket

CBSAtlanta
March 8, 2012 1:50 PM

HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. (CBS Atlanta) — An illegal immigrant from Guatemala will be able to collect $750,000 he won from a lottery ticket he purchased in 2010.

A Houston County Superior Court jury ruled in 27-year-old Tony Cua-Toc’s favor Thursday that he was the rightful owner of the Jingle Jumbo Bucks lottery ticket, according to the Macon Telegraph.

Cua-Toc, who entered the country illegally in 2000, claimed that the business owner he worked for, Erick Cervantes, claimed the winning lottery ticket for him and ended up keeping the money, according to the paper.

Cervantes said in court that he was the rightful owner of the ticket because he gave Cua-Toc $20 to purchase it for him.

The Macon Telegraph also reports that the jury awarded Cua-Toc $207,000 in attorney’s fees and is also entitled to punitive damages.

Source: Illegal Immigrant Allowed To Collect Winning $750,000 Lottery Ticket « CBS Atlanta

Welcome to "THE REASON AMERICA IS BROKE"...Allowing these Illegals "rights" and "benefits" that are AMERICAN!!...Not only do they Leech off the Welfare services system...Now they get lottery cash too!!!

Wow, way to ruin America..Im still Proud to be American, but Im ashamed of these "leaders" we let ruin this country!

RELATED

Houston County Jurors Rule In Favor of Jailed Undocumented Immigrant in $750K Lottery Dispute

41nbc.com
Written by Andrew Reeser

(video at source)

HOUSTON COUNTY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) - A Houston County jury rules in favor of a jailed illegal immigrant in a battle over a $750,000 lottery ticket.

http://www.41nbc.com/images/cua-toc.JPG

Tony Cua-Toc smiled as he entered the courtroom Thursday after winning a case that attorneys thought would go the other way.

"Obviously we're disappointed in the jury's verdict," says the defendant, Erick Cervantes's attorney Kelly Burke. "I have nothing but respect for the jury system but we thought we proved quite convincingly that Mr. Cua-Toc's story didn't make sense."

It all started back in November of 2010, when Cua-Toc claimed to have won $750K after playing the Georgia Lottery; but Erick Cervantes claimed the money as his because Cua-Toc could not provide the proper documentation when he won; so Tony Cua-Toc filed a lawsuit, and a judge ordered the funds frozen.

"Once he filed his lawsuit, we quit spending any of the money," says Burke.

Cua-Toc is serving time in the Houston County jail for drunk driving-- and he is an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala; but under Georgia law, that does not really matter with regards to playing the lottery.

"Georgia law does not prohibit the sale of a lottery ticket to a foreign national," affirms Cua-Toc's attorney, Charles Adams, III. "The only person who can't buy a lottery ticket is somebody under 18."

Burke tells 41NBC he thought his witnesses' arguments would be enough to win the case; but it was one piece of evidence that seemed to sway the jury in Cua-toc's favor. Video surveillance at the O.M. Food Mart in Warner Robins in November 2010 shows an ecstatic Tony Cua-Toc after learning he won the lottery.

But Cervantes and his wife Sonia, who recently divorced, claim Cua-Toc threatened to kill them and their children if they did not turn over the money. Adams says these claims are false, and founded in the defendant's "dishonest behavior."

The jury deliberated for about 40 minutes following Adams's and Burke's closing arguments. When Judge George Nunn read the verdict, Cua-Toc grinned from ear to ear. Cervantes sat with no expression, and his ex-wife, Sonia Cervantes, who was visibly upset, left the courtroom. Erick Cervantes would later say on the witness stand she became ill, but she returned shortly thereafter.

During cross examination to determine if punitive damages would be awarded to Cua-Toc, Adams argued Erick Cervantes spent more than $200,000 thousand of the winnings.

"This is your opportunity to send a message...that we will not tolerate this type of behavior," Adams told jurors as they were about to determine punitive damages. He repeatedly said the defendants "stole" the money from Cua-Toc, and had a "grand time" with it.

Cervantes's attorneys told the jurors, "Please don't pile on him," saying they respected the jury's decision, and citing the fact that Cervantes has three children for which to provide.

Jurors met for nearly an hour after hearing the attorneys' closing arguments. Their verdict was that Cua-Toc should be awarded $25,000 in punitive damages.

"I do think the jury's verdict speaks to what witnesses they believed and didn't believe," says Adams.

Burke tells 41NBC he will talk to his client about an appeal of today's decision. 41NBC asked attorneys if Tony Cua-Toc will be deported back to Guatemala, but they declined to comment. If Cervantes appeals, Cua-Toc may have to stay in the U.S. Burke says it is too early to decide if he is going to appeal the jury's verdict.

Source: Houston County Jurors Rule In Favor of Jailed Undocumented Immigrant in $750K Lottery Dispute - 41 NBC

TAX the crap out him and give him the boot!

Burn his employer for hiring him. Look on the bright side he will now be able to buy a VISA, the government sells them for $500,000.00 to anyone with the money.