McDonald's workers allege lotto fraud

BALTIMORE, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- A Baltimore-area McDonald's restaurant worker is being sued by her co-workers for alleged lottery fraud, officials said.

Fourteen McDonald's employees are suing Mirlande Wilson, alleging she defrauded the Maryland Lottery to avoid sharing a payout with them, The Baltimore Sun reported Saturday.

The group claims Wilson was the holder of a winning Mega Millions lottery ticket they bought as a group that was worth one-third of the $656 million jackpot.

In April, Wilson allegedly claimed to be the holder of a winning ticket purchased in Baltimore County, but later said she had lost the ticket. Several days later, lottery officials announced the real holders of the winning Baltimore County ticket were three public school educators they dubbed the "Three Amigos."

In an affidavit, McDonald's employee Dominique Gourdet said he was Wilson's live-in boyfriend at the time she allegedly won the lottery and that she had shown him pictures of the winning ticket with the winning numbers on her phone.

"She advised that an arrangement was made for others to claim the prize as their own, but that in fact she had provided the ticket and that she would ultimately receive the vast bulk of the prize," Gourdet alleges in his affidavit.

Gourdet also said Wilson told him each of the three educators claiming to be the winners would be given $1 million for "helping" in the scheme, while Wilson's lawyer, Edward Smith Jr., would receive $2 million.

Wilson has denied the claims, saying she never had the ticket.

"It's not true," she said. "This is a baseless story."

Maryland Lottery spokeswoman Carole Everett said the "Three Amigos" are the true winners.

"It was verified," she said.