A convicted sexual offender is now a multimillionaire after claiming a $3 million Scratch-Off prize in Florida, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Records indicate that Timothy Poole, 43, was arrested 12 times on charges ranging from sexual battery of a victim under 12 to grand theft, the Sentinel said. In 1991, he was arrested for stealing almost $20,000 in food stamps from an Ocala Insurance company, where he worked as a guard. According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Poole served three months in prison in 1996 and did a second stint from 2003 to 2006.
“We chose to not draw additional attention to this particular winner,” a communications manager for the Florida Lottery told the Orlando Sentinel after taking down the photo of Poole from its website.
There are no laws in Florida that prohibit registered sexual predators from collecting winnings and the Florida Lottery cannot withhold earnings based on someone’s criminal record.
Poole played the Super Millions scratch-off game, which costs $20 a ticket, and claimed his winnings in a one-time lump-sum payment of $2,291,807.90.
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