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Remember that chick who was put on blast for still receiving food stamps after she’d won a million dollar lottery prize?
[READ: WTF?!? Million Dollar Lottery Winner Explains Why She's On Food Stamps (VIDEO)]
Besides the food stamps debacle, the 25 year old lottery winner broke several rules of lottery failures past and now she’s not around anymore to spend her winnings OR collect her government subsidized meal assistance.
Details…
Amanda Clayton, the 25 year old woman who admitted to receiving food stamps after winning $1 million on a Michigan state lotto game show was found dead a few days ago.
The circumstances surrounding Clayton’s death were not immediately released by police, but sources within her local police department said they suspect the woman died of an overdose.
Clayton became a millionaire after her big win last September, caused outrage earlier this year when it was revealed she was continuing to get $200 in monthly food aid from the state. According to the attorney general’s office, Clayton failed to report her winnings and employment while receiving $5,475 in food and medical assistance.
As a former lottery employee, I know personally that there are several things you should NOT do when you win a substantial prize and the Huffington Post lists the top 5:
1. Don’t tell anyone you won (collect the money anonymously).
2. Get all your ducks in a row BEFORE you collect the check (it’ll be there… TRUST!)
3. Never take the lump sum payment. (An annuity (money over time) will give you time to adjust to being a millionaire and will also guarantee you don’t go overboard and spend all your dough in one swoop.)
4. Consult a financial adviser and make sure they have experience with multi-million dollar accounts.
5. Give back to the community (Good Karma comes back).
Amanda tried to rip off the government for food stamps, which would probably have given her a hood pass if she actaully NEEDED THE ASSISTANCE!
Clearly millionaires are not supposed to collect food stamps (strike #1 in the Karma department).
Clayton was sentenced to nine months probation after being convicted of welfare fraud but died before she could even complete the sentence.
People who win the lottery lose perspective on normal things in life. They start to think that rules don’t apply to them. In Amanda’s case, she thought she could outsmart the welfare people and do serious drugs without consequence.
She lost her bet both times.
Clayton was only 25 and after her win, she had a ton of newfound “friends.” It’s clear she broke rule #1 – she couldn’t keep her mouth closed about the dough.
Telling the world that you have money that you never expected to have is asking for trouble. Like Abraham Shakespeare, another lottery winner who wound up dead in Florida, people thinking that your money should be “our” money seem to come out of the woodwork.
Money long, money gone. It’s clear that winning money can be a gift and also a curse.
RIP Amanda Clayton…
Can you think of any rules to add to the list of Do’s and Don’ts for lottery winners?
There are some states you are not able to collect anonymously. And even if you can they will still publish your name, town residing and the amount you’ve won. There has to be a legal paper trail for the IRS.
In Virginia you can no longer collect the money anonymously sadly. You would think you could to gurantee safety.
I always wanted to win the lottery but hey my house number used to be in the white pages and I have an active FB account. Thieves could easily find me so I’m fine being a non-millionaire.
Don’t you have a set time though after receiving the money to go public like 10 days or so? Trust me I can move and and not be found at ALL during that time frame.
Especially with a couple million dollars. You can make a lot of moves in 10 days. Hahahaha…
This whole article is kind of harsh/tacky… Your basically saying her death was her karma for still accepting food stamps after she won the lottery. How about a respectful RIP or nothing at all…
I was thinking the same thing. May not have been the intent but that is the way it came across.
ya this was poorly written and very mean
I felt that too..don’t get me wrong she didn’t do right thing but I wouldn’t report her death in this way.It had a mocking tone to it…its still a life lost…
The truth hurts. If she wants to sit home SCAMMING people while collecting checks for spending her time on game shows as opposed to looking for employment, TWSG!!!!! No sympathy whatsoever. Tried to outsmart and scam the system and she got beat. Sorry bout you LUCK!!!!
You don’t know what this girl was going thru neighbors trying to beat her ass ppl acting like they was her friends and using her and she lost it and turn to Pills but don’t get me wrong she was wrong for still getting food stamps but at the end she was broke cause 60,000 can’t get you far and the only reason she had only that much is because she started her kids college funds and made sure her parents was good it’s sad ppl take a story and turn it all around like yall live in Michigan the news and blogs will tell you anything but don’t know the full truth….. Now yall can run with that shit to the bank
I feel sympathy for this young ladies family…But enough of the silly excuses….60,000 will get you very far if you invest properly….millions of people manage life well without EVER having the opportunity to receive a large cash payment…good her children can go to college…millions of students succeed having to take out student loans so stop making her the victim….she got an opportunity to better her life and she blew it and that is just the truth of the situation
SsYeah you rite but when ppl in her ear telling her what to do and how to do it and not helping her to do the rite thing like getting a lawyer and opening up trust funds smh when she won she was only 23 not a lot of 23 year olds thinking about doing the rite thing in her mind her and her family made it and she did do a lot of dumb stuff with the money like helping her friends and some of her family…..they said the girl didn’t want the money so she was giving it away to everybody thats why she only had 60,000 left. Only thing she did do rite was getting a house for her and her kids and the house look like all she paid was 30,000 and set up college funds for her two kids and made sure her parents was good but the rest she was passing out cause everybody was her friend and everybody was using the girl
listen I am not saying she did not have to face obstacles but compared to being on government assistance ,winning a million dollars is a come up and their is no such thing as ONLY 60,000 lol…sorry but that still is a major head start for a woman who was recently getting a few hundred a month for food…..and the reality of the situation is DRUGS….more money to get high….yes it is a sad situation but again SHE WAS NOT A VICTIM
I know she attempted to defraud the state and got caught. I know her ass was spending time on game shows instead of looking for employment. I don’t care what led her to have only 60K. Boo effin hoo, another in the string of bad decisions. Unfortunately, her LUCK ran out. I’m not saying she deserved to die, but she brought everything that happened to her on herself.
Thanks @scooby for correcting this article. Theres nothing stupid about setting up college funds for your children, or helping your parents. RIP young lady.
Sooooo from a million dollars or rather probably 600k she only had 60gs left after helping her family??????????? Thats bogus. Yea it was a life lost but if she didnt value her life then no one else will
no it is not…what was stupid is being greedy…..and of course using your lump sum of money on drugs….dont care what your financial status is eventually drugs will destroy or end your life
Correct me if I’m wrong, but in Georgia you’re not allowed to collect anonymously.
Ummmmmmmm, I hope you give Don McNay some publishing credit for this article. Becuase, u straight stole this man article, verbatim, and changed a few words, added some shade to a dead woman, and posted it on your blog. For those that dont know, this story is on the huffinton post under crime and it wasnt not written by no SFTA author. Daggone shame, steal a credible article, and use it to bash a woman that was someones mother and child that made bad choices. Do Better Michelle!
Ha ha, you getting down on her for sho…
@ME – Clearly you missed that "huffington post" link above. Next time you try to throw me under the bus, make sure you have a valid reason.
She put a link to the Huffington Post in red. I clicked it.
It’s true you can’t collect without giving a name. But that’s why you set up a trust and have the trust collect the lottery winnings. The trust’s name will be published. With enough manerving it is very easy to hide behind the trust.
I was going to suggest the same thing. All those wealthy white people with offshore accounts hiding money overseas in fake accounts and in fake corporation names rather than their own names do that for a reason: To keep nosey asses out they business. Just ask Mittens Romney.
this sounds fishy im gone investigate…..developing
This article is way to negatively written. How do u know one of her "new friends" didn’t give her a hot bag so she would OD and rob her? RIP and I’m sorry that her family has lost a loved one.
So young. Babies without a mother.
I just read the other story linked to this where a winner was found under concrete? $ truly is the root of all evil. Bless that man’s family.
Thanks @scooby… This was really uncalled for. I live in Michigan and you don’t even have the story straight.
Yeah, she was wrong for collecting the bridge card still but in all honesty, she truly needed it. That girl was pushed into all kinds of things when she won..she was in court for neighbors, family and friends betraying her.
You could have left this one alone…and since you’re talking about karma lets hope it doesn’t turn around on you for this one.
I live in Michigan too that’s why I’m getting mad about it because of the story just ain’t rite…… At the end of day this girl lost her life her kids lost a mother and her parents lost a daughter and its sad cause ppl was pushing this girl to that point
Straight from the A keep doing u!!! All these haters talking about what not too write about. Quit hating. Its entertainment… Don’t like it , read some other site.
It’s not hating its constructive criticism. There is a difference, I’m sure she can handle it.
I have a journalism degree and my professor would have given this a straight F… Smh, how tacky!
I’ll take that F in journalism and raise you a business degree…
BTW, how’s that journalism degree workin out for you?
Why are you so defensive? Lol, its working out great, award winning great darling. Your blog is great for entertainment, but some things are not funny and should be left alone. I just started reading a few months ago, and commenting just recently. Don’t be so defensive when someone says something you don’t like. Congrats on your business degree!
There is no way you have a business degree with all these typos. The entire degree is based on writing. Your grammar, punctuation, and proofreading skills would not meet the requirements for each class.
Are you kidding? You might want to check your punctuation before calling the author to the carpet sweetie.
Michelle you really should have at the very least taken a crash course in the principles of journalism between the lottery and this site. They would have told you to just write the facts. U are trying way to hard to be up there with ATL elite. I am embarrassed at your cruelty. This girl has loved ones and they don’t deserve to hear from you that she’s dead because of a mistake she made. As afore stated u used a credible source’s work and messed it up in your usual hater manner. We don’t want to read this filth unless you can stop spilling old COLD tea. Your opinion does not count. You r going to end up paying more money out than you take it. Maybe you should work for Tameka since you are so faithful to her b/c Marlo, Usher IV and a few others are going to shut this messy plagiarist mess DOWN!!!
If you took a crash course in blogging, they woulda told you I’m NOT a journalist. Nor do I desire to be.
No "cruelty" was intended but if what I said ruffled some feathers… good! Maybe it will prevent someone else from following the same path.
And thanks for drinking my COLD tea… see you tomorrow for another cup full! (((hugs)))
not a ounce of remorse… lol
Rebuttal sounded sore. Proves what your ex-lottery colleagues and good hot street tea says about your ghetto behavior and wanna be staus is true. U don’t fit in. Trust an insider. They are laughing at you, especially the cheap too tight clothing. Don’t bother, my work here is done. Message delivered!!
Speaking of Tameka…wasnt it some of the folks on THIS site that felt like she was responsible for her sons death. It was called karma and keeping it real. This woman gets dogged out on every post that has anything to do with her but NOW everyone wants to have a heart. It’s perfectly fine to be sensitive to situations like this as it is very sad but I cant help but to see we have a problem much bigger then any of us want to see. In Amanda’s OWN words she knew what she was doing, thought they would just cut her off after she won but since they didnt she figured it was ok…she was no longer working and she had bills to pay…
She knew good and well she was supposed to call and let the welfare people know she had millions and would no longer be needed their services.
It’s her business you are totally right. She seemed so matter of fact about it.I hope people can learn from this story all around. There are times that some people can’t handle having more money unfortunately.
Why is Marlo gonna shut this blog down?
Then why do you keep reading? I didn’t realize she forced anyone to go to her page. Have another glass of Hater-Ade.
We don’t want to read this filth
———————
Usually, I don’t intervene in the banter of others, but in this case, let me invite you to take a short walk on a long pier. Did someone pay you money to come to this site? Marlow ain’t gonna do shit but fuck rich white men so old they don’t leave fingerprints anymore, and Usher ain’t gonna do shit but fuck a different coochie every night like he’s been doing since the age of 15. What the hell are YOU doing? You are engaging in an activity you don’t even like. How dumb.
Some of you have alot of nerve. I honestly believe had she been a woman of color some of you would be all over it, her and the air she inhales. This is a classic case of greed…still collecting aid although she was employed and had won then the overdose. I’ll let the tax payers take care of the medical needs of my family and put food on our table ALTHOUGH there is a single mother who is looking for work, help and can’t even get the assistance needed. Call it what it is?! I pray that GOD had mercy on her soul but my heart really goes out to the kids left without a mother, parents left without a daughter clearly at 25 she was still too young for such a big responsibility.
If I won the lottery there is no way I would tell anyone. People are leeches. Suddenly wanting to be your friend. I’ve always been pretty good with money and know how to save, buy nice things, etc, but you really have to keep quiet on everything you have cause people will even try to take the little bit you do have.
THE FIRST IS CONTACT DAVE RAMSEY OF THE DAVE RAMSEY SHOW…BRIALLIANT BRILLIANT MAN……
I believe all money should be allowed to be collected without alerting the media. Different from anonymous, alerting the FBI, IRS, CIA or whoever need to know that you have won any amount of $9,000 is appropriate. For safety reasons an for things described below in the posts with the woman acquiring new friends. You hear awful stories of people who are miserable after winning the money. You have people contacting you and you are harrassed. I believe if I played my money, I should have a right if I am put on a media blitz. I would rather protect my family than to live with millions of dollars.