Winnipeg man sues former partner over $5M winning lottery ticket

CBC News

· Posted: May 23, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

A lawyer for a antheral who says his erstwhile woman "ghosted" him aft claiming a $5-million prize connected a lottery summons helium bought volition beryllium successful a Winnipeg tribunal Friday, asking a justice for an bid to forestall the woman from giving distant immoderate of her wealth oregon selling different assets.

Lawrence Campbell's suit says helium bought the winning 6/49 ticket astatine a convenience store connected Isabel Street successful Winnipeg the time earlier the gully and handed it to his past girlfriend, Krystal McKay, who is named arsenic a suspect successful the lawsuit, because helium had precocious mislaid his wallet.

She claimed the multimillion-dollar prize successful the Jan. 20, 2024, draw, though Campbell alleges he unsocial purchased the ticket, and arsenic its sole owner, "is entitled to restitution successful the afloat amount" of $5 million, according to his lawsuit.

"No 1 successful each of past has simultaneously been a jackpot victor and jackpot loser of the aforesaid draw, with the aforesaid numbers, connected the aforesaid ticket," said Campbell's lawyer, Chad Panting, successful a connection to CBC News connected behalf of his client.  

Campbell was "in a loyal, committed and promising romanticist partnership" with McKay astatine the time, and shared galore things with her, including a location and family, says the connection of assertion filed May 14 successful Court of King's Bench astatine Winnipeg.   

The time aft the lottery draw, Campbell scanned the ticket using the Lotto 6/49 cellphone app and discovered it was a winner.

Plaintiff denies summons was day gift

The adjacent day, and again connected Jan. 30, 2024, Campbell and McKay went to the bureau of Western Canada Lottery Corporation, the non-profit corporation that manages assorted lotteries for respective provincial and territorial governments, including Lotto 6/49.

According to the lawsuit, an cause astatine WCLC led Campbell to judge that due to the fact that helium didn't have valid-government issued ID, helium "would beryllium ineligible and incapable to assertion the winnings," and said helium should allow McKay to publically assertion the winnings.

McKay past deposited the $5 cardinal into her slope account, "as she was the lone named victor connected the ticket" and Campbell didn't person an progressive slope account, the tribunal papers says.

Campbell trusted McKay with the lottery summons and gave her support to assertion herself the victor of his summons "on the knowing that she would clasp the winnings, successful trust, for his benefit," the assertion alleges, until helium got a valid authorities issued photograph ID and acceptable up capable banking arrangements.

A Jan. 30, 2024, quality merchandise issued by Western Canada Lottery Corporation and Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries announcing the triumph said that McKay received the lottery summons arsenic a day acquisition from her partner.

In his connection of claim, Campbell denies that the summons was purchased "solely arsenic a day gift" for McKay.

Following the lottery win, the mates were staying successful a edifice country aft the lottery win, but 1 night, McKay did not return, the suit claims.

He searched places wherever she was known to spell and party, and "after immoderate investigation, helium recovered her, successful bed, with different guy," the suit says.

McKay later said she wanted to extremity her narration with Campbell "to beryllium with this caller guy," according to the lawsuit.

She past "used the resulting struggle betwixt them arsenic a pretext to efficaciously deprive the plaintiff from entree to his rightful monies," the suit alleges.

It says McKay "ghosted" Campbell, refusing to instrumentality his calls and blocking him connected her societal media accounts, and adjacent took retired a extortion bid against him.

CBC was incapable to scope McKay for comment.

Lottery corporation, Crown corp sued

The suit besides names the Western Canada Lottery Corporation arsenic a defendant, saying Campbell "relied connected ill-gotten and negligent proposal from the suspect WCLC agents to licence … [McKay] to assertion the wealth arsenic the sole winner, and unlawfully support the lotto monies each to herself."

The suit besides names Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation, the Crown corp liable for gaming successful the province, arsenic a defendant.

Neither responded to a petition for comment.

The allegations successful the suit person not been tested successful tribunal and the defendants person not filed statements of defence.

A question earlier the tribunal connected Friday seeks an bid to restrain McKay from selling oregon gifting thing of value, including money, investments, vehicles or existent estate.

"We recognize however unbelievable parts of his communicative are, judge us," said the connection from Panting, the lawyer representing Campbell.

"Mr. Campbell did not personally consciousness precise good, arsenic helium dilatory realized that the spot helium had with each 3 defendants was misplaced and violated," the connection said.

"He relied connected the strategy and got burned, trusted his spouse and was deceived," Panting said successful an email, adding that Campbell's case requires a nationalist combat — "something helium did not want."