The ABC Action News I-Team has exposed a troubling pattern affecting lottery winners in Florida. Multiple people have reported profitable over $1,000 from lottery video games, most effective to learn that they’re not able to collect their rewards as a result of they owe cash to the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO). The reason behind this factor is frequently attributed to overpayments in unemployment advantages, however one of the vital affected people declare that they have got by no means carried out for unemployment, while others say that they have got now not gained unemployment for a number of years and weren’t alerted to the truth that they owed cash.
The ABC Action News I-Team has been following this tale since January, and it has since helped over 200 Floridians to hook up with DEO to get to the bottom of their problems. Many of those people have came upon that they don’t owe any cash to DEO and are actually receiving their winnings because of this.
Maxine Tunstall was one of the vital other folks suffering from this factor. She gained a $10,000 lottery prize, however was not able to collect her winnings because of a DEO overpayment declare. Tunstall had gained a letter from DEO alerting her of suspected fraud on her unemployment account, which she had now not utilized in over 5 years. She had executed not anything in accordance with the letter because it inspired her to not take any motion, however this apparently resulted in confusion and headaches when she gained her lottery prize. Tunstall came upon that she owed not anything, on the other hand, because of the ABC Action News I-Team’s intervention.
The I-Team has got public information from the Florida Lottery, revealing that between January 1, 2022, and January 31, 2023, it gained a “potential outstanding state owed debt alert” for 7,421 individuals who owed cash to DEO. New knowledge compiled through the I-Team signifies that, to this point in 2023, the lottery place of job has been knowledgeable of three,094 winners who owe DEO cash.
DEO has mentioned that overpayment procedures are in position to forestall fraud, but it surely has stated that overpayments can happen because of incomplete claims. DEO has instructed people to go browsing to their unemployment accounts to test for any notifications and to be sure that their touch information is up-to-date.
The I-Team continues to listen to from Floridians who declare that they have got now not gained notifications in spite of those being indexed as their most popular touch way. Others have reported problem having access to their unemployment accounts because of fraud claims, or as a result of it’s been see you later since they amassed unemployment advantages. The I-Team has additionally heard from people who had been ready to collect their lottery winnings after the I-Team intervened.
If you’ve got been advised that you simply owe cash to DEO over an overpayment in unemployment however were not able to get to the bottom of the problem with the company, the I-Team desires to listen to from you. You can fill out a sort at the ABC Action News site to offer your information to DEO.