A recent lottery winner in Ontario got an extra on top of the multi-million dollar cheque: a free arrest:
Some guys have all the luck.
That’s what Barry Shell of Brampton likely thought Monday when he went to pick up his nearly $4.4 million jackpot at Ontario Lottery and Gaming headquarters on Dundas St. W.
But after a smiling Shell, 45, had posed for an OLG photo holding his cheque for $4,377,298, he was arrested outside the building on outstanding criminal charges and taken into police custody.
The most interesting part, however, was this statement from the lottery officials:
Asked how a lottery win could result in the discovery of outstanding warrants, Rui Brum from OLG said last night: “A rigorous investigation process is followed any time a prize is claimed.
“Any flags that are raised are immediately forwarded to the OPP Bureau attached to the AGCO (the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario) for further investigation.”
H/T to Jon, who said “come to attention in the media or in some other way, and the state starts looking into you.”
