My husband and I won $500k from $5 lottery scratch-off on same day we got an eviction notice – but we still lost it all

A COUPLE thought their luck was turning around when they won $500,000 from a scratch-off, but then they landed in jail, penniless.

The lottery player and her husband were served an eviction notice for their home the same morning she won.

Michigan Lottery Connect

Stephanie Harvell and Mitchell Arnswald lost a car days before winning the lottery and were living paycheck-to-paycheck.

“I cried like a baby when I saw what I’d won,” Harvell told the Michigan Lottery after her 2016 win.

“It’s hard to find words for what this means to our family, but it couldn’t have come at a better time,” Harvell said

The couple said they would use the winnings to buy a house and a car and set up college funds for their daughters.

They did buy a house but later landed in county jail after being linked to a months-long burglary spree around Michigan three years later.

Local police were following an unusual spate of burglaries in 2019 that targeted unoccupied homes and happened in broad daylight, reports The Washington Post .

Investigators finally got a lead regarding a Ford SUV and spotted the car at a grocery store.

Inside, they found Harvell and Arnswald surrounded by items stolen from a local home.

Police obtained a warrant and searched the couple’s Bay City home on the coast of Lake Huron. There, they found more evidence linking the couple to other burglaries.

In 2020, Harvell was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay $17,966 in restitution between four recipients.

Arnswald was sentenced to three concurrent prison terms, up to 40 years, and ordered to pay $22,310.84 in restitution to multiple recipients.

UNLUCKY STREAK

Jack Whittaker got an extra special Christmas gift in 2002 when he won the $314 million jackpot .

After taxes, the jackpot was diminished to just $113 million.

“I just want to thank God for getting me to pick the right numbers… or letting the machine pick the right numbers,” he said of the holiday win.

“I don’t know if my life will ever be normal again.”

Lottery winnings: lump sum or annuity?

Players who win big on lottery tickets typically have a choice to make: lump sum or annuity?

The two payout methods can impact how much money you get from your prize.

Annuities pay out slowly in increments, often over 30 years.

Lump sums pay all at once but in a smaller amount, as taxes are withheld in one go. That means 24% of your prize goes to Uncle Sam right away. Many states tax winnings as well.

Annuities can provide winners time to set up the financial infrastructure required to take in a life-changing amount of money, but lump sums have the benefit of being taxed only once.

Inflation is also worth considering when making a choice, as payouts do not adjust with the value of a dollar. That means that you’ll likely be getting less valuable money towards the end of an annuity.

Each state and game pays out prizes differently, so it’s best to check with your state’s lottery to confirm payment policies. A financial advisor can also help you weigh the pros and cons of each option.

Experts have varying opinions on whether to take the lump sum or take the annuity .

People immediately began asking him for money, and he became a local celebrity.

Whittaker began drinking and gambling as part of his new lifestyle, which caused his marriage to split up.

While he partied some of his winnings away, he was also the victim of multiple burglaries, losing about $100,000 to thieves.

Whittaker was reportedly broke in the last years of his life before dying in 2020 at age 72.

A Walmart shopper turned $50 into $1 million after winning a scratch-off ticket.

Lottery officials ask players to check their tickets as a $50,000 Powerball prize remains unclaimed .