Florida Lottery Winners Get Money Back After They Were Told They Were Unemployed

HILLSBORO COUNTY, Florida. More people are getting their lottery winnings after Scripps News Tampa stepped in to help. The money was withheld by the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), the state unemployment service, after thousands of Floridians went to collect their prize money.

“What was so exciting turned into an absolute nightmare,” said Sarah Magnetta. “I thought it might hurt a lot of people.”

Magnetta received a form from the lottery office saying she was overpaid for unemployment and owed money to the DEO. Because of this, she was unable to claim the $1,000 prize she won.

After sharing similar stories of Magnetta and Sarah Brooke and contacting the DEO on their behalf, both women learned they would get all their lottery money back from the state.

Since then, more than 70 people have contacted Scripps News Tampa and reported that the same thing happened to them. They won the lottery but were unable to raise the money because they owed the state unemployment benefits. Most of them said they had no idea they owed money and could never get in touch with anyone at the DEO for answers.

Hilde McMillen was one of them.

“I said, ‘Well, it’s me! It really happened to me!” McMillen said after seeing the story on TV.

Scripps News Tampa sent names and information about everyone who applied directly to the DEO. About 10 people responded that they had received a call from the DEO and were told that they would return all the money.

For years, 82-year-old McMillen worked in the gift shop of a nearby hotel.

“I worked at Double Tree and I got up early every day,” McMillen said.

When the hotel closed for a while at the start of the pandemic, she received unemployment benefits. But the state later notified her that she had been overpaid about $200.

“My daughter-in-law helped me, and we immediately sent her. And that was the end, I didn’t hear anything else until I won my fortune here,” McMillen said of her $1,000 win.

For McMillen, who is caring for her grown son with special needs, it was her first big win.

“Oh my God, I was excited! At the time, yes, I needed money,” she said.

The excitement was short-lived.

“They told me they weren’t going to pay me. Since I had an unemployment overpayment, I say I can’t believe it, I say I’ve already paid it,” McMillen said.

She then called the DEO.

“It took almost three hours to get them and the lady was very nice, but she couldn’t help us in any way,” McMillen said. “They held me hostage with my own money.”

Public records obtained from the Florida Lottery show that between January 1, 2022 and January 31, 2023, 9,804 winners received a “Potential Outstanding Debt Warning.” Over 7400, 75% of these debt alerts were from the DEO.

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“My $1,000 was in the unemployment office and no one was doing anything. Until we saw your segment on TV,” McMillen said.

Her sister-in-law filled out a form on the Scripps News Tampa website, which was sent to the state.

“Two days later I got a call from the unemployment office and they said we would send you your money. And then two days later they called me again and said when I would receive it. I mean, that’s exactly what happened,” McMillen said, snapping her finger.

She said that she would also be refunded the approximately $200 she had already paid to the DEO.

“In other words, I don’t owe them anything,” McMillen said.

She never did.

Over the summer, McMillen received a letter from the DEO stating, “You are not at fault for creating this overpayment, and the department has determined that it would be contrary to fairness and good conscience to recover.”

The DEO said in a statement that Scripps News Tampa’s overpayment procedures are in place to prevent fraud, but understand that “just because an overpayment is flagged on an account does not mean that an overpayment has occurred.” demand.

The DEO said people should log into their unemployment accounts to check any notices and make sure contact information is up to date.

This article was written by Kylie McGivern for Scripps News Tampa.