Cleveland Woman Charged In Mega Millions Fiasco
Police: Elecia Battle Admits To Filing False Claim About Winning Ticket
POSTED: Friday, January 9, 2004
UPDATED: 5:21 pm EST January 9,
2004
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- A Cleveland woman who claimed to have lost a lottery ticket worth $162 million was charged Friday with filing a false police report.
The charges came a day after 40-year-old Elecia Battle (pictured, left) told the public she was mistaken in thinking she bought -- and lost -- the winner and apologized to the real winner, Rebecca Jemison, of South Euclid, Ohio.Police say Battle showed up at the police station with her lawyer and admitted that she filed a false claim.The misdemeanor charge carries 30 days to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.Battle's attorney, Sheldon Starke, said his client will plead no contest on Jan. 15.Police Lt. Kevin Nietert said police pursued the charge because protecting the lottery's integrity is important.
In the days after the winning ticket was drawn for the Dec. 30 Mega Millions jackpot, Battle filed a police report claiming she'd lost the winning ticket and sued to block the certified winner from getting the winnings.Battle later admitted she was mistaken after being shown the winning ticket. She has said she bought and lost a ticket and thought she remembered picking the winning numbers on the ticket she lost."I apologize to Rebecca Jemison and I wish her well. I wanted it so bad to change my life it was just overwhelming," Battle said at a news conference Thursday.Battle has a criminal record for credit card fraud and assault.Police said Battle used a customer's credit card number to make purchases while working at a Richmond Heights pharmacy in 1999. She paid a $450 fine for misuse of a credit card, and a 10-day jail sentence was suspended.
The charges came a day after 40-year-old Elecia Battle (pictured, left) told the public she was mistaken in thinking she bought -- and lost -- the winner and apologized to the real winner, Rebecca Jemison, of South Euclid, Ohio.Police say Battle showed up at the police station with her lawyer and admitted that she filed a false claim.The misdemeanor charge carries 30 days to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.Battle's attorney, Sheldon Starke, said his client will plead no contest on Jan. 15.Police Lt. Kevin Nietert said police pursued the charge because protecting the lottery's integrity is important. MEGA MILLIONS WINNER  |
Winner's Husband
Previous Stories:
- January 8, 2004: Ohio Woman Drops Claim To Winning Lottery Ticket
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Authorities release a chilling 911 call from a 19-year-old woman who hid in the back bedroom of a Central Florida home while four men attempted to break into the house.
An ex-wife of the man who found the remains of Caylee Anthony says that she thought her ex-husband was responsible for or involved in the girl's death.
Five people are dead after a mobile home fire broke out in Central Florida.
Dashcam video shows a Florida woman offering an officer sex instead of getting a ticket.
A 3-year-old boy was left stranded at a commuter train platform when a door on the train malfunctioned, separating the toddler from his dad. A good Samaritan stayed with the child until the father could return. (Nov. 20)
A woman tired of hearing her son say he lost another sock has come up with an idea to prevent it from happening again.
South Carolina police say an obese man died after not moving from his recliner for the past eight months. Police say the man's body was physically stuck to the chair and firefighters had to cut him out. He died a few hours later at the hospital.
An Oregon appeals court has ruled against an Oregon high school teacher who wants to take her gun to class. She has been battling for years and says she needs the gun for protection. (Nov. 20)
Take a quick look at the flicks headed to your multiplex. Check out the trailer, too.
Thirty Victoria's Secret supermodels take over New York's Times Square this week.
Email Alerts
RSS News Feeds
Mobile
Live Streams
Slideshows
Video
Search
