Drug Dealer Must Forfeit Lottery Jackpot

A Texas man who won $5.5 million in the state lottery has been ordered to give it up because he bought the winning ticket with money made selling cocaine, federal officials said.

Lawyers for Jose Luis Betancourt argued that the ticket was purchased with cash from selling old clothes, but a jury in federal court in Brownsville, Texas, disagreed and ruled Wednesday he had to forfeit the cash, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Nancy Herrera.

Betancourt, 52, was found guilty of drug dealing last week and is awaiting sentencing that could put him in prison for life.