NEW YORK (WSVN) — An unemployed New York man is fighting to keep his identity concealed after he won $5 million on a scratch-off lottery ticket.
According to the New York Post, the 24-year-old — who doesn’t even have a bank account — won the $5 million when he bought the ticket while shopping for an outfit for his birthday.
However, the man later found out that he wouldn’t be able to claim his winnings unless he took part in a press conference where he posed for photos with an oversized check.
“In claiming the prize, winners must sign a claim agreeing to attend the press conference,” said state Gaming Commission spokesman Brad Maione. “We don’t have any provisions for anonymity.”
The man is now demanding the state Gaming Commission, which runs the New York Lottery, keep his identity a secret. If no, he said he plans to sue.
“Where I grew up, everybody knows me. All these people would know and I’m afraid they might come for me,” the man told the New York Post. “Everybody who knows me knows I’m too nice. And I don’t want to be taken advantage of.”
“I’m sure he’ll be forever hounded,” said the man’s attorney, Andrew Plasse. “It’s a really bad idea to identify people. They might not get harmed right away, but one, two years down the road, they might get robbed.”
The man is not the first person to take their fight to the judge in their request to remain anonymous. A judge ruled in March that a New Hampshire woman who won $560 million Powerball jackpot could remain anonymous.
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