Woman Who Said She Won Lottery Apologizes
A woman who told police in Cleveland that she bought and lost a lottery ticket worth $162 million all but admitted she made it up, saying tearfully: “I wanted to win so bad for my kids and my family. I apologize.”
Elecia Battle, 40, said she was dropping her lawsuit over the Mega Millions jackpot that was awarded Tuesday to 34-year-old Rebecca Jemison.
Battle apologized to her husband, Jemison and her lawyer.
“I’m not a bad person. I’m really not,” she said. “Everyone has a past.”
Days after the Dec. 30 drawing, Battle filed a police report saying she had lost the winning ticket, possibly when she dropped her purse outside a convenience store. She later sued to block Jemison from collecting the jackpot.
Police in suburban South Euclid, where the winning ticket was sold, said Battle would probably be charged with filing a false police report -- a misdemeanor punishable by 30 days to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
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