Two Massachusetts lottery winners have been accused of collecting welfare benefits.
Massachusetts is charging James Casey Jr. of Waltham, Mass., and Frank Basile of Belmont, Mass., with larceny and fraud, the Associated Press and the Boston Globe report.
Casey is accused of collecting $14,000 in MassHealth benefits and food stamps after winning more than $700,000 from the lottery since 2009, and Basile is accused of also collecting MassHealth benefits while winning more than $316,000 in lottery tickets, according to the Boston Globe.
Massachusetts officials believe that their lottery winnings also are a fraud. They say that Casey and Basile are among fraudulent lottery winners that cash in others' winning lottery tickets and keep 10 percent of the money to help the actual winners avoid taxes or child support, according to the Boston Globe.
A Michigan woman also has been accused of collecting welfare benefits after winning the lottery. Amanda Clayton was arraigned in a Michigan district court in April for allegedly receiving $200 per month in food stamps after winning $700,000 from the lottery.
"I kind of do [need the money]," Clayton said on WDIV-TV. "I mean, I have no income, and I have bills to pay. I have two houses."