A woman lost her winning lottery ticket after police learned that her boyfriend was a drug dealer, according to police in Illinois.
Tykisha Lofton of Decatur, bought a scratch-off lottery ticket, which won $50,000.
Lofton claimed that she already filed to get the $35,000 as a lump sum instead of the $50,000 before police raided her home.
During the raid, police found evidence that her boyfriend, Terrance Norwood, was selling drugs. Police also found the winning lottery ticket and seized it, claiming that it was bought with drug money.
Police said that they had a right to seize the ticket under the state’s forfeiture laws. Norwood was convicted of drug dealing, drug possession and armed violence.
He was sentenced to serve in prison.
Lofton filed a petition in court to get back her lottery ticket, claiming that she bought the ticket with her own money, but a judge rejected her request.
