You Win Some, You Lose Some: Lottery Winners Who Lost Everything

Marva Wilson Learned You Can’t Trust Anyone

After winning $2 million in the Missouri lotto in 2012, Marva Wilson was scammed out of almost all of her money. A woman named Freya Pearson pretended to be her friend and said she would help Wilson put a lien on her house and do her taxes. Instead, Pearson convinced the new millionaire to transfer more than $400,000 of her winnings into a bank account for a non-profit she had set up.

With her winnings gone, Wilson says Pearson duped her out of the money she was going to use to send her grandkids to college, repair her home, and invest in her life savings. Pearson didn’t get off guilty free and was sentenced to five years in prison for fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion. You won’t believe how this next couple spent $13 million in just 15 years.