After 7 years, Canadian lottery officials say they’ve finally awarded to the correct people a multimillion-dollar jackpot that authorities say was fraudulently claimed by someone else.
Seven construction workers who played the lottery together in December 2003 were awarded $12.5 million plus $2.35 million in interest after being declared the rightful jackpot winners.
“After more than seven long years, the right prize is going to the right people,” a beaming Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission (OLC) chair Paul Godfrey said before the winners were introduced at a ceremony.
The winners of the Lotto Super 7 were identified through an exhaustive investigation by Ontario Provincial Police, supported by OLG’s own investigative team, and information provided by OLG’s new Data Analysis and Retrieval Technology (DART) system.
“They tracked us down after seven years! The OLG is great,” said James Reaman, one of the group members.
A lottery retailer’s relative claimed to be the winner after the clerk had not disclosed to a buyer that he had won a free ticket, which later turned out to be a winning ticket.
The winning group members, who at one time all worked together, are:
* Adam Barnett, 32 years old, of Grimsby
* Daniel Campbell, 37 years old, of St. Catharines
* Jason Dykema, 34 years old, of Burlington
* Daniel MacGregor, 36 years old, of Burford
* Michael Maddocks, 35 years old, of Beamsville
* James Reaman, 40 years old, of Ridgeville
* Joseph Reaman, 35 years old, of Ridgeville
(SEE the great photo of the 7 winners, and read more at Toronto Star)