A Massachusetts man says two women cheated him out of $4 million in lottery winnings by taking advantage of his inability to read or speak English.
The man, Joao Luis DaPonte, said in a civil complaint filed earlier this month in Bristol Superior Court that when he initially scratched the Lottery ticket he purchased at Cafe Sao Paulo on Bolton Street in New Bedford on Nov. 23, he believed he had won $4,000 since the ticket said "$4MIL" below the number 26.
DaPonte does not read or speak English, his suit says, and "mil" translates to 1,000 in Portuguese.
He later asked New Bedford resident Maria Oliveira, one of the named defendants, to cash the ticket for him, since he knew she had cashed out scratch tickets for other people in the past and kept a percentage of the winnings for herself, according to the suit.
She obliged and returned $3,800 to DaPonte, court papers allege. DaPonte later learned after speaking with a friend that Oliveira and another named defendant, New Bedford resident Susana Gaspar, had schemed to grab the $4 million jackpot for themselves, according to the complaint.
Here's how they allegedly plotted to steal from DaPonte:
"As part of their scheme, the defendant Oliveira provided the ticket to defendant Gaspar so she could sign the ticket and present it to the Lottery Commission for payment," the suit says.
Gaspar chose the lump sum cash option on the ticket, which came to $2.6 million before taxes, according to the complaint. Now the remaining $1.6 million lies in escrow while the suit is pending, records show.
A lawyer for Gaspar and Oliveira didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
But in an affidavit filed with the court, Oliveira said she has "never cashed in lottery tickets for anyone" and never received a lottery ticket from DaPonte. And, she said, while DaPonte claims she gave him $3,800, she "never gave Mr. DaPonte any money at any time in my life."
Gaspar couldn't immediately be reached for comment, and a State Lottery spokesman declined to comment.
DaPonte's lawyer declined to comment.
"The defendants' acts... constitute knowledgeable assistance contributing to the common tortious plan of depriving the plaintiff of his lottery winnings," DaPonte's complaint says.
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"Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!" (Sir Walter Scott, 1808).
What a surprise......
Comes to America and gets ripped off cause hes a dumb arse
How much will the lawyers earn? Nothing if he loses. If they are on contingincy.
He got conned out of his money by trash people like this that take advantage of someone that doesn't know the language or someone that can't read. I hope he wins his case and gets his money.
To top it off, the Mayor of New Bedford is a very shady individual and despite indictments kept getting paid and they wouldn't even change the locks to keep him out of office.
Horrible that there are predators who prey on people like him. Going forward, he may want to learn the English language as well as how to read and write or he may just lose another large chunk of $$$ that they froze on his behalf.
Based on the article it looks like a he-said-she-said case because it seems these women -- if they did indeed do what DaPonte alleges -- were smart enough not to leave a trail. My instinct says they probably did swindle him, but good luck to him proving it.
At least his $3800 can buy him some of those fancy Rosetta Stone CDs and some in person English classes. I'm guessing Gaspar and Oliveira are also from Brazil, but were sensible enough to learn English.
This guy has no one to blame but himself. He is in a foreign country for crying out loud, learn to assimilate by learning English or risk being a victim again. How does he even drive if he doesn't understand English?
Luis is hiding something. For all we know, he could have had a fling with Maria, after some serious R&R, he confides in her, telling her that he bagged a couple of grand. Maria, realizing that Luis is not the brightest crayon in the box decided to speak to Susana about the situation.
The first rule of thumb: If you residing in a foreign country- learn the language. In visiting Puerto Vallarta a few years back, l was surprised to see a Chinese storekeeper speaking Spanish, but hey.
** Live and learn Luis, live and learn. Look on the bright side Luis, you at least got walking around money, some thieves bleed you dry.
DaPonte does not read or speak English
Reminds me of the clerk I asked to give me a PB ticket with powerplay today and even placed $3 on the counter. They handed me three tickets, one with powerplay and two without. Apparently it took them three tries before they got it right.
He later asked New Bedford resident Maria Oliveira, one of the named defendants, to cash the ticket for him, since he knew she had cashed out scratch tickets for other people in the past and kept a percentage of the winnings for herself, according to the suit.
Can't read or speak English, but knew Maria "cashed scratch-offs for other people"?
I can read and speak English, but don't know anybody that cashes tickets for a %. Wonder if there is a clerk that remembers selling DaPonte a ticket or possibly a video?
Luis " should have" contacted Clarance Jones, from Massachusetts- you know the 80 year old who pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit tax fraud and filing false tax returns in connection with a scheme in which he bought winning Lottery tickets at a discount in order to help the real winners avoid paying taxes on the prizes. Clarance had a track record. l guess Luis was looking in the wrong place, after all finding an " honest " crook is never too far.
This could have been Jones's Last Crusade.
I always wondered if this was about Bristol, Mass., Connecticut or Tennessee..........
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CinviAVC5jY
Somebody paraphrase it to
The chicks in Bristol don't need a pistol.......
Stupid is, as Stupid does.
Why in the world would you buy a ticket, that you couldn't understand if you won or not. I mean really.
Might be hard to find out who's trying to fool who.