MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – A South Florida man thought he’d hit the jackpot after he won thousands off a winning scratch-off ticket, but his luck ran out when he went to cash in the huge prize.
After Joe Cheung saw he’d won $10,000, he went to the lottery office to cash in, but while he was there, he was told the state was keeping his winnings and that he owed the state money, according to reports.
“I had to take my phone and scan it to make sure it was real,” Cheung told Local 10.
The news outlet reported that a message popped up confirming his winnings. The message congratulated him and directed him to the lottery office to claim his prize.
However, after Cheung went to the lottery office in Miami Lakes and showed them the winning ticket, he left empty-handed.
Instead of receiving his cash prize, the unemployed mechanic was handed a piece of paper that claimed he owed the state of Florida money, specifically the Department of Economic Opportunity for unemployment compensation, Local 10 wrote.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cheung reportedly received unemployment assistance. He was told that he was overpaid and had a debt balance of $7,800.
Though, Cheung’s confusion didn’t end there as he had applied for and was granted forgiveness. He stated that the overpayments were waived and he had proof.
For months, he’s been trying to get ahold of the Department of Economic Opportunity to straighten things out.
“I called, I left six voicemails, no response, and then the next thing I call again, you hold for four hours and then the line gets cut off,” Cheung told Local 10.
The local news station said the lottery winnings would mean a lot to Cheung as he would use the money towards his mortgage and car payments, but add that he’s not alone.
Local 10 stated from Jan. 2022 to Jan. 2023, 9,804 Florida lottery winners have received a letter claiming they owe the state money, with the majority owning funds to the DEO, but whenever they try to call the department, they are also unable to reach them.
“You can’t get a hold of nobody,” Cheung said.
After Local 10 reached out to the department with Cheung’s information, he received a phone call a few days later saying that there was an error and that it would take “four-to-six weeks to get the check back.”
But alas, the winnings are now headed Cheung’s way and the DEO stated that the overpayment procedures like this are in place to mitigate fraud and they say prevention measures have prevented more than $23.3 billion in fraud.
According to Local 10, the DEO reached out to them and released the following statement which reads:
“DEO’s Reemployment Assistance overpayment procedures are in place to mitigate fraud. Overall, DEO’s fraud prevention measures have prevented more than $23.2 billion in fraud. An overpayment occurs when a claimant receives benefits they were not eligible to receive as a result of a variety of factors. To be clear, we realize that just because an overpayment is flagged in an account, it does not mean an overpayment has occurred. In fact, many overpayments occur when an overpayment waiver has not been completed by the claimant. This can be resolved by claimants completing the Overpayment Waiver Request Form in their Reemployment Assistance accounts. Your viewers and readers who have an overpayment on their Reemployment Assistance accounts are encouraged to learn more about how to resolve a Reemployment Assistance overpayment at www.FloridaJobs.org/Overpayments.”