Fla. Sheriff Fears Missing Lottery Winner Killed

[alienlovechild 75]

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) -- In 2006, Abraham Shakespeare -- a truck driver's assistant who lived with his mother -- won $30 million in the Florida lottery. His good fortune may have cost him his life.

''There are a lot of odd and bizarre circumstances in this case,'' Sheriff Grady Judd said. ''We fear and are preparing for the worst. We're working this case as if it were a homicide.''

Shakespeare, 43, won the big jackpot after buying a lottery ticket at a convenience store in a town called Frostproof, claiming later that he gave the last $3 in his pocket to a homeless man just before the winning numbers were announced.

Shakespeare -- who had a criminal record that included arrests and prison time for burglary, battery and not paying child support -- took a lump-sum payment of $16.9 million instead of annual installments.

He bought a Nissan Altima, a Rolex from a pawn shop, a $1 million home in a gated community. He talked about starting a foundation for the poor and insisted the money wouldn't change him.

''I'm not a material person,'' he said in 2007. ''I don't let material things run me. I'm on a tight budget.''

A former co-worker sued him in 2007, accusing Shakespeare of stealing the winning ticket from him. Six months later, a jury ruled the ticket was Shakespeare's.

Then there were the people constantly asking him for a piece of his fortune.

She said her son was generous, paying for funerals, lending money to friends starting businesses and even giving a million dollars to a guy known only as ''Big Man.''

Not long after he bought the million-dollar home in early 2007, he was approached by a woman named Dee Dee Moore, said family and officials.

Moore -- who could not be reached by The Associated Press -- said she was interested in writing a book about Shakespeare's life. She became something of a financial adviser to Shakespeare, who never graduated high school.

Property records show that Moore's company, American Medical Professionals, bought Shakespeare's home for $655,000 last January. His mother said the last time she saw him was shortly afterward, around her birthday in February.

The sheriff said the last time anyone saw Shakespeare was in April -- but it wasn't until Nov. 9 that he was reported missing, by a police informant.

According to The Ledger of Lakeland, the 37-year-old Moore contacted reporters at the newspaper in April, saying Shakespeare was ''laying low'' because people tried to suck money out of him.

That made sense to Shakespeare's mother -- sort of. ''I remember once, talking with me over the phone, he said he might go to Jamaica,'' she said.

On Dec. 5, a sobbing Moore told The Ledger that she helped Shakespeare disappear, but now wants him to return because detectives were searching her home and car and looking for blood on her belongings.

One reason he wanted to leave, she said, was a child support case for a child he allegedly fathered after winning the lottery. ''Abraham sold me his mess to get a better life,'' she told the paper.

She even gave the paper a video that she said she took of Abraham. In the video, he says he is tired of people asking him for money. ''They don't take no for an answer,'' he says.

''So where you wanna go to?'' Moore asks in the video.

''It don't matter to me. I'm not a picky person,'' Shakespeare replies.

Moore told the paper that she took the video to ''protect herself.''

Moore said she filed paperwork to take over five mortgages totaling about $370,000 that had been owed to Shakespeare. She said she sold the loans at a loss to another person. She added that many of the people who borrowed from Shakespeare have refused to pay, and she feels threatened by some of them.

Moore's past includes a year of probation after she was charged with falsely reporting that she was carjacked and raped in 2001. Officials said she concocted the scheme so her insurance company would reimburse her for the SUV, which she claimed had been stolen.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01/06...ery-Winner.html

[Ban Hammer 14,640]

i just read that one on yahoo news. seems like he attracted all kinds of deadbeats trying to cash in, including dee dee moore.

[alienlovechild 75]

i just read that one on yahoo news. seems like he attracted all kinds of deadbeats trying to cash in, including dee dee moore.

I read somewhere that a lot of lottery winners end up bankrupt within a few years. They are usually too poorly educated to handle the money and haven't got the smarts to get a decent lawyer and respectable financial advisor. Even if they just put the money in a bank and divided their winnings by year, they could do well. The guy could live on half a million/yr for 32 years.

Kin folks said Jed move away from there.

Edited January 7, 2010 by alienlovechild

[scandal 951]

Kin folks said Jed move away from there.

Not the smartest hillbillie on the hacienda!

[Nagishkaw 510]

So he loaded up the truck and moved to Beverleeee?

[Ban Hammer 14,640]

follow up story:

Body found during search for missing lotto winner

PLANT CITY, Fla. – Human remains have been found near a home where investigators were searching for the body of a missing man who won millions of dollars in the lottery nearly four years ago, Florida sheriff's officials said.

Abraham Shakespeare, a 43-year-old truck driver's assistant, has been missing since April — though he wasn't reported missing until November. He had won a $31 million lottery jackpot in 2006, opting for a lump sum payment of nearly $17 million.

"We have recovered some human remains and turned them over to the medical examiner's office," Debbie Carter, a spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, said Friday. "We still have not made positive identification, and that may be a while."

The remains were found at a home owned by the boyfriend of Dorice Moore. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd has previously called Moore a "person of interest," though she has not been charged. Judd has characterized the case as a homicide.

On Dec. 5, Moore told The Ledger newspaper that she helped Shakespeare disappear, but now wants him to return because detectives were searching her home and car and looking for blood on her belongings.

Judd has said Moore transferred more than $1 million from Shakespeare's bank account into hers. She said the money was a gift.

Shakespeare had a criminal record that included arrests and prison time for burglary, battery and not paying child support. He used his winnings to buy a Nissan Altima, a Rolex from a pawn shop and a $1 million home in a gated community — but the money quickly caused him more problems.

A former co-worker sued him in 2007, accusing Shakespeare of stealing the winning ticket from him. Six months later, a jury ruled the ticket was Shakespeare's. And his mother, Elizabeth Walker, has said others were constantly asking Shakespeare for a piece of his fortune.

Not long after he bought the million-dollar home in early 2007, he was approached by Moore, family and sheriff's officials have said. She became something of a financial adviser, and property records showed that her company bought Shakespeare's house in January 2009.

link

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Poor guy.

[Ban Hammer 14,640]

it's him, the body has been identified:

PLANT CITY, Fla. – A body found buried in a backyard was identified Friday as missing Florida lottery winner Abraham Shakespeare.

more here

[natty bumppo 297]

the plot thickens .....