Man wins lottery winnings from ex-wife

Wednesday, Nov. 17, 1999 | 11:03 a.m.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES -- A family court judge ruled that a woman who kept her $1.3 million lottery winnings secret from her husband during their divorce must give the man the entire jackpot.

The California State Lottery Commission confirmed that Thomas Rossi's ex-wife had won the nearly $1.3 million jackpot on Dec. 28, 1996, just 11 days before she filed for divorce after 25 years of marriage.

Superior Court Judge Richard Denner said Denise Rossi violated state asset disclosure laws and determined that she acted out of fraud or malice.

He based his decision on a deposition in which Ms. Rossi admitted to concealing her winnings because she didn't want her ex-husband "getting his hands on" them.

Thomas Rossi found out about the winnings more than two years after his divorce when he received a solicitation in his mailbox in May from a company that pays lump sums for lottery winnings.

The letter, addressed to his wife, said that the company had "helped hundreds of lottery winners like you around the country receive a lump sum payment for the present value of their future annual lottery payments."

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