Michigan Lottery Winner Claims It Ruined His Life

A Michigan Lottery winner claims that winning the lottery ruined his life.

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While Michigan residents are waiting impatiently to see who recently won the $842 million Powerball jackpot, one former lottery winner claims it is not all it's cracked up to be.

Jay Sommers of Mt. Clemens was just 20 years old when he hit the lottery for $5.8 million in 1988 (making him the youngest Michigan Lottery winner at that time).

According to Wikipedia, Sommers won one-fifth of a $28.9 million jackpot in the Michigan Lottery.

Before winning the Michigan Lottery, Jay Sommers was a professional stock car racing driver and went on to purchase additional race cars with his millions.

So when did things go bad for this Michigan Lottery winner?

Things went bad for Jay Sommers when he let a high school friend, John Paganes, talk him into handling his money.

Pagnes did send Jay Sommers monthly payments for a while, but the money eventually ran out. We think you know what is coming next.

Sommers spoke with the New York Post in July 2022 and had this to say about the unfortunate business arrangement,

'I put money in a trust fund and the trustee embezzled $2 million from me.

 

I went into NASCAR and that was fun but expensive — it cost me $200,000 per year. I raced in Daytona and finished fourth. I quit college, which was idiotic.

 

I wound up suing the trustee and won, but he threatened to go bankrupt. So I settled for $800,000. My lawyers got $380,000. I spent about $200,000 on the trial, which I did not know I would be responsible for.'

During the same New York Post interview (2022) Sommers said he was a mechanic and working a normal nine-to-five job and did indeed confirm that winning the lottery ruined his life.

Before you judge, keep in mind how young Sommers was at the time of winning. Here is to hoping whoever is holding the winning ticket for the recent Michigan $842 million Powerball jackpot learns from this tragic tale.

For more on Jay Sommers, check out the videos below.