CLEVELAND, Jan. 8, 2004
Lying Lottery Lady Comes Clean
Woman Who Said She Lost $162M Ticket Admits She Lied
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Play CBS Video Video Mega Millions, Mega Headache
An Ohio hospital worker has come forward with the winning Mega Millions lottery ticket, but that hasn't stopped another woman from filing a lawsuit claiming the ticket is hers. Cynthia Bowers reports.
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Video Woman Claims Lottery Prize Rebecca Jamison, an Ohio hospital worker, is introduced as the grand prize winner in the Mega Millions lottery. She'll take home roughly $65 million after taxes.
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Elecia Battle, right, looks at her husband, Jim, as tears roll down her face during a news conference. (AP)
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Rebecca Jemison, left, talks with reporters after claiming the $162 million Mega Millions jackpot. (AP)
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Interactive Lottery Luck Meet some big winners and check out your odds.
Elecia Battle, 40, of Cleveland, is dropping her lawsuit to block payment of the Mega Millions jackpot to the certified winner, said her lawyer Sheldon Starke.
"I wanted to win," Battle said. "The numbers were so overwhelming. I did buy a ticket and I lost. I wanted to win so bad for my kids and my family. I apologize."
Battle had filed a police report saying she lost the ticket, possibly when she dropped her purse outside a convenience store. The lottery declared Rebecca Jemison, 34, of suburban South Euclid, the winner on Tuesday.
Battle said she wanted to use the money to help her family and recently laid-off Cleveland police officers. She apologized to Jemison, her lawyer and her husband.
"I'm not a bad person, I'm really not," she said. "Everyone has a past."
South Euclid police had said earlier this week, after Jemison was certified, that they were investigating whether Battle could be charged with lying on a police report, a misdemeanor punishable by 30 days to six months in jail.
Dennis G. Kennedy, director of the Ohio Lottery, had said the lottery was confident Jemison had purchased the ticket, not found it.
Jemison provided another lottery ticket purchased at the same time and location and had a lottery ticket that showed she had played the same numbers in the prior drawing, Kennedy said.
©MMIV CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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