A BILLIONAIRE lottery winner might have his identity exposed after years of taking extreme measures to keep his name a secret.
The man has flown under the radar since scoring the fourth-biggest jackpot in US history when he won the $1.35 billion Mega Millions prize in January 2023.
However, his cover might be blown after a judge ruled last week that he can’t use a pseudonym if a bitter legal battle with his ex goes to trial.
The anonymous lucky winner has been embroiled in the drama with the mother of his daughter for years after she agreed to sign a non-disclosure agreement about the winning lottery ticket he bought from a gas station in Maine.
Aside from the NDA, the winner has gone to great lengths to keep his name concealed – and even found a way to bypass state laws requiring him to disclose his identity when he claimed the prize.
He claimed his lottery prize anonymously by creating a limited liability company based in Delaware to collect his prize.
The winner took a lump sum cash payment of $723,564,144 before taxes.
But things started to get messy after his ex, identified as Sara Smith in legal documents reviewed by The U.S. Sun, promised she wouldn’t tell anyone he won the lottery.
In November 2023, the winner sued Smith and accused her of telling his parents about their son’s windfall, court documents revealed.
The man who filed the lawsuit under the name John Doe, asked the judge to order Smith to confess all of the people she had revealed his secret to and to pay him at least $100,000 for each time she spilled, according to the suit.
However, Smith fired back and accused Doe of inventing the claims against her in a scheme to force her to give up custody of their daughter.
Smith said shortly after she signed the NDA in February 2023, Doe took their school-aged daughter away for four to six weeks because his “security team” said she was in danger of being kidnapped, according to court documents reviewed by The U.S. Sun.
He promised her the girl would wear a GPS watch so the mom could track her daughter’s location – but then the watch was turned off and mailed back to Smith.
She then learned that Doe had taken their daughter out of school for the rest of the year.
The mom’s growing concerns prompted her to file an emergency order against Doe, leading him to return their daughter home in March of that year.
The lottery winner also allegedly offered Smith money in exchange for full custody of their daughter.
Top lottery winners in the US
Millions dream of winning the lottery and finding fame and fortune. These are the biggest winners in US lottery history.
Edwin Castro – $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 8, 2022, in California. Theodorus Struyck – $1.765 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, in California. Unknown winner – $1.602 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, in Florida. Marvin and Mae Acosta from Los Angeles, California, John and Lisa Robinson from Munford, Tennessee, and Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt from Melbourne Beach, Florida – $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016. Unknown winner – $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, from South Carolina. Unknown winner – he sued the mother of his child to keep his identity hidden – $1.348 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, from Maine. Unknown winner – $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, from Illinois. Cheng and Duanpen Saephan, and Laiza Liem Chao – $1.326 billion, Powerball, April 7, 2024, from Oregon. Rosemary Casarotti – $1.22 billion, Mega Millions, December 27 2024, from California Unknown winner – $1.13 billion, Mega Millions, March 26, from New JerseyDoe’s dad intervened in the legal drama after the lottery winner demanded he never speak to Smith again, according to an affidavit obtained by the New York Post.
The dad also claimed the lottery winner went back on his promise to buy him a garage and cars to fix up with his lottery winnings.
In his filing, the dad wrote that he told the lottery winner, “You are not the son I knew.”
“He got angry, calling me a ‘dictator’ and an ‘a–hole,'” the dad wrote.
“I have not heard from my son since, and he has not done any of [the] things he promised.”
As the case continues, US District Judge John Woodcock ruled on Thursday that Doe won’t be able to keep his identity a secret any longer if the case against Smith goes to trial.
His attorneys filed an appeal to delay the case, they confirmed to The U.S. Sun.
To keep his anonymity, Doe would have to drop the case altogether.
Smith’s attorneys haven’t returned The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
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