Lottery Winner Charged with Fraud Found Dead
A Michigan woman who received national attention after it was discovered she had won $1 million playing the lottery and was still collecting public assistance has been found dead.
Amanda Clayton, from Lincoln Park, allegedly died of a drug overdose but the official cause will not be available until an autopsy has been completed, according to police officials.
Police stated that the body was found around 9 a.m. Saturday morning in a home in Ecorse and was apparently discovered by her one and a half year old daughter.
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Reports indicate that Clayton was found in the home of friends who were babysitting the late woman's children. Clayton went to the home in Ecorse on Friday night to see her kids and that is when her friend's noticed that she did not seem like herself.
"She was already in a bad stage. Her legs were shaking. You know she was going through her prayers. She was eating food with the kids," the friend's boyfriend, who did not want his name revealed, told WXYZ.
"She was right next to her sleeping. They were watching movie together. She started crying. And that's when Rachel walked in and she tried to see what was going on and she flipped her and she was gone," he added.
Earlier this year Clayton made national headlines after it was revealed that she had won a $1 million lottery jackpot and was still receiving state assistance. According to the attorney general's office, Clayton failed to report her winnings and employment while receiving $5,475 in food and medical assistance.
She pleaded no contest to the charge of welfare fraud and was sentenced to probation in July.
"So many people tried to take advantage of her, act like they are her friends just to get some money from her. It gets to the point where you start questioning yourself," he told WXYZ.
