Back in March, when John Ross Jr. won the California lottery's "Set for Life" scratch-off game, which promises $70,000 after taxes every year for the next 20 years, he told a local CBS news station that he planned to get his life together.
But the Appeal-Democrat is reporting that Ross may be off to a rough start: This past weekend, he allegedly used a portion of his winnings to bail himself out of jail in Yuba County.
According to the paper, Ross -- whose winnings will total $2 million over 20 years -- is suspected of being linked to a stolen Honda Civic, which he may have helped a woman hide behind a local residency and repair. The woman who is thought to have stolen the car, Skila Ann Hickman, was in custody as of Monday evening.
"At some point, the vehicle stopped running and Ross was helping her with that, too," Lieutenant Damon Gil told the Appeal-Democrat
This is far from the first time lottery winners have ended up in precarious situations following their good fortune. Last month, a judge ordered a new trial in an Arkansas case where a woman who won the lottery -- and spent a good portion of the money -- was potentially going to have to give it all back because she had found the ticket in the trash, and it belonged to someone else.
In another recent incident, a 76-year-old lottery winner ended up suing her son for fraud after she alleged that he tried to steal her $51 million prize.
And back in April, a lottery winner from Michigan failed to report her winnings and faced Welfare fraud charges because she may have continued to collect public assistance after she collected a lump sum of $700,000, before taxes.
Interestingly enough, when John Ross Jr. won the lottery back in March, he told Appeal-Democrat that one of the things he wanted to do with the winnings was buy a car.
"I've never had a car. I'm 29, and I've never had a car," he said at the time. "There's something wrong there."
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