Anonymous Powerball winner plans to donate portion of $559 million jackpot to charity
CONCORD, N.H. -- Lawyers for an anonymous New Hampshire woman who won a $559.7 million Powerball jackpot have announced she is giving some of the winnings to charities that feed hungry children and help girls in the state.
In a news conference Wednesday, the New Hampshire Lottery Commission handed over the winnings to the woman's lawyers. The lawyers also announced she would give $150,000 to Girls Inc. and $33,000 each to three chapters of End 68 Hours of Hunger.
The woman will get her money as a legal fight over releasing her identity plays out in court. The commission approved the payment to a trust the woman set up.
Under New Hampshire law, a lottery winner's name, town and prize amount are public information.The anonymous winner signed the back of her ticket following the Jan. 6 drawing, but in a complaint said she thought she was required to do so as directed by the state lottery commission's website.
She also described herself as an "engaged community member."
"She wishes to continue this work and the freedom to walk into a grocery store or attend public events without being known or targeted as the winner of a half-billion dollars," the complaint said. "She wishes to remain in New Hampshire and give back to the state and community that has given so much to her."
The Powerball prize was the second-largest for a single winner in Powerball history and the seventh-largest in U.S. lottery history. A 53-year-old Massachusetts woman got a $758.7 million Powerball windfall in 2017.
