A couple of weeks ago I reported that a family was fighting over a $3.5 million lottery win in Canada. The stepfather, Gerald Moore, claimed that his wife had stolen his lottery ticket and gave it to her daughter, his stepdaughter, to cash in and claim. There was an investigation into the allegations made by Mr. Moore and now charges have been filed against the wife and daughter.

The wife, Patricia Moore, claimed that she did not steal the ticket. She stated that she had bought tickets for herself as well as her daughter, Bobbie-Jo Arnold, and that her daughter had received the winning ticket. Mr. Moore claims otherwise. He stated that he had left the ticket on his dresser, unsigned, and Mrs. Moore stole the ticket from him. After she supposedly gave the ticket to her daughter, Ms. Arnold then went to claim the winnings. Mrs. Moore then filed for divorce from her husband.

The Ontario Provincial Police Investigations and Enforcement Bureau along with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario have completed the investigation into the allegations. The police investigation resulted in Mrs. Mary Patricia Moore and her daughter, Bobbi-Jo Arnold, being charged with fraud over $5,000, possession of property obtained by crime, false pretences and uttering a forged document contrary to the Criminal Code.

Both women were in court yesterday and were able to get out on bail. They are expected to return to court on November 18th. The attorney for Ms. Arnold has stated that the judge has frozen assets and accounts until the matter is resolved.


- 2008-10-03