Michigan Lotto Winner Who Claimed Welfare Found Dead in Home
Amanda Clayton, the controversial Michigan lottery winner, has been found dead, sources report. Clayton was at the center of much criticism and had been charged with welfare fraud after claiming she needed government assistance even after winning a $1,000,000 lottery.
Friends found the lottery winner lying on the bed holding her one and a half year old daughter, according to WXYZ news. Police suspect that Clayton died of a drug overdose.
Clayton's story ignited a firestorm after it was revealed that she was still receiving government assistance after her lottery winnings. A local TV crew discovered that she had bought a house and car, which she paid cash for, but yet Clayton maintained that she was "still struggling."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"I feel it's okay [to receive welfare] because I mean, I have no income and I have bills to pay. I have two houses," she told WDIV TV. "I thought they would cut me off, but since they didn't, I thought maybe it was okay because I'm not working. It's just hard you know. I'm struggling."
Officials eventually charged Clayton with welfare fraud, and she pleaded no contest. She received a sentence of probation and paid back the money the court ordered, which, according to a friend, came to $5,500.
"So many people tried to take advantage of her, act like they are her friends just to get some money from her," the friend told WXYZ. "What's the point of having money if you're not going to have happiness?"
One friend described her as being in "a bad stage. You know she was going through her prayers. She was eating food with the kids," he told WXYZ.
The next morning, though, when Clayton's daughter went in to wake her mother, she was already dead. Autopsy reports are currently pending.
