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Michigan man wins $2 million. On food stamps

Posted: May 18, 2011

He took the lump sum of $850-something thousand. Poor guy. He's poor! this is the kind of stuff that HAS to stop.

(WJBK) - A Michigan man has continued to accept food aid from the state even though he won big in a state lottery game and said he told officials about it.

Leroy Fick won the $2 million jackpot in the "Make Me Rich!" contest in June. Despite receiving about $850,000 in winnings, the Auburn resident is still using his Michigan Bridge Card, an electronic version of food stamps.

Fick's lawyer said his client hasn't done anything illegal.

"He did call the state," John Wilson, the Midland attorney representing Fick, told The Bay City Times for a story Wednesday. "Not to mention, the state knows he won. They issued the check."

Further, Wilson said, Fick's case was recently reviewed and his eligibility was confirmed.

"It's not him," Wilson said. "As far as him doing the right thing by the (Department of Human Services), he did the right thing."

Fick told WNEM-TV in Saginaw that more than half the lottery prize went to taxes. He said the department told him he could continue to use the card, which is paid with tax dollars.

"If you're going to ... try to make me feel bad, you aren't going to do it," he said.

Fick appeared on the lottery show after winning $1,000 on one of the lottery's $20 instant games.

Department spokeswoman Gisgie Gendreau said that, under federal guidelines, if a person receives a lump-sum payment, the winnings are not counted as income. The money is considered income if the person receives regular, ongoing payments.

DHS inspector general's office director Al Kimichik said food assistance on the Bridge card is guided by federal regulations but authorities are taking steps to change the policy.

From another article:

A Michigan man who won $2 million from a state lottery is reportedly still eligible to receive food stamps.

Leroy Fick of Bay County, Mich., said in an interview with WNEM-TV that he still uses his bridge card at stores despite winning a jackpot on "Make Me Rich!" last June.

"I even called them and asked about the bridge card and (the Department of Human Services) said you can go ahead and keep it if you want to," Fick reportedly told the station.

Fick claims he paid more than half of his winnings in taxes -- leaving him about $850,000 -- according to the station.

State Department of Human Services spokeswoman Gisgie Gendreau told MyFoxDetroit.com that under federal guidelines, lottery winnings are not counted as income if a person receives a lump-sum payment.

Nearly 1.9 million Michigan residents are enrolled in the food assistance program. More than 805,000 are children, according to the Detroit Free Press.

In 2009, the Office of Inspector General investigated more than 2,600 food assistance complaints, finding more than $5 million in fraud.

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lottery winning/food stamps - FED UP

[ In Reply To ..]
I live in Michigan and read about this. This makes me sick. My daughter, who is raising a 4-year-old by herself, lives in her own apartment, brings home less than 400.00 per week and she only gets $68.00 per month in food stamps.I babysit for her while she works because she does not qualify for childcare and my husband and I help her with her utility bills. Now how fair is that? She has a car payment and they told her they do not consider a car payment as a bill so they wouldn't give her an allowance for that either.

The whole government system is broken but as long as we continue to elect these idiot politicians this will be an ongoing problem. No wonder why our state is so broke and this idiot governor we have just wants to tax the middle class and poor more and more while giving the rich and big corporations tax breaks. Like I said this sickens me.

its that time again girls and boys - tam

[ In Reply To ..]
time to play pile on the wicked, lazy, promiscous poor folk while being totally oblivious, actually obsequious,to the wealthy cabal that is actually harming you, your grandchildren, your nation (democracy).

Here we go again with the evillllll rich - mantra.....soooo oldddd.

[ In Reply To ..]
you do realize that most employers in this country are the evillll rich, right? What is your answer? Never mind...I know. Use the government as the tool to take money from those who earn it to those who do not (many of whom who willingly do not).

Thanks so much.

Not the OP but - the rich aren't evil. They just have the means to avoid paying taxes - and the rest of us do not

[ In Reply To ..]
Fair is fair. Let's let them pay their fair share, please. I LOVE them! They are good, kind, benevolent, and so caring, giving, generous, but they need to pay their fair share of taxes, whether they hire people (and some do and some don't) or not.

Furthermore, I'm tired of this, "Don't ask the rich to pay their fair share or they will take their marbles (jobs) and go home! I'm tired of those threats. If they want to do it, let them do it. We'll start over with NEW businesses who DON'T threaten us, and we'll buy from them because we want to, not because we are afraid not to.

I'm sorry but the rich aren't the only - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
ones who take advantage of loopholes in the tax code. If we would simplify the tax code and close these ridiculous loopholes, it would bring in a lot more revenue. I just don't get how you guys label the rich as evil when it is our politicians who allow these loopholes to be there. Who doesn't use a deduction when they can? We all do that. Kind of like the Bush tax cuts. I heard a lot of complaining about them and people thought they were ridiculous...but I didn't see those people handing back the money they got from it.

I am curious. Who among us got money from the Bush tax cuts? - Are you seriously equating

[ In Reply To ..]
a one-time stimulus check to decades upon decades of tax evasion that GOP pols would like to make permanent? Really?

I don't see any democrat - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
trying to close these loopholes either. Perhaps we wouldn't have to "raise taxes" on the rich if these loopholes were closed. Even if you raise the taxes on the rich, what good will that do when there are still loopholes for them to use to get out of paying taxes? GE ring a bell? You know...Immelt? The guy who is pals with Obama and also runs NBS...hello? GE didn't pay any taxes and yet Obama has appointed Immelt to a position in his administration. Ya'll don't have a problem with that? Wow.

The first thing we should do is simplify the tax code. If that doesn't bring enough revenue...then we can talk about raising taxes.

The bottom line....raising taxes on the rich isn't gonna make our huge deficit go away. It is gonna take a combination of higher taxes with a simplified tax code along with some major spending cuts.

Maybe you misunderstood the question. - sm

[ In Reply To ..]

Are you SERIOUSLY equating a one-time stimulus check to decades and decades of tax evasion?

FYI, I am not against closing tax loopholes or revising the tax code. I am also not in the mood to argue with your tunnel vision ("I do not see any democrats trying to get rid of these loopholes") and false assumptions. I do have a problem with GE not paying taxes but unlike you, and despite the Supreme Court recognition of corporations as people with rights, I am able to distinguish between a megacorporation and an individual person. Immelt is the guy who has waived his CEO bonuses since 2008 (the economic downturn) and was responsible for reimbursing GEs 2010 $3.8 billion tax break back to the government. In that regard, he issued this statement:

“All seven of our foreign tax havens are entirely legal,” Immelt noted. “But Americans have made it clear that they deplore laws that enable tax avoidance. While we owe it to our shareholders to use every legal loophole to maximize returns – we also owe something to the American people. We didn't write the laws that let us legally avoid paying taxes. Congress did. But we benefit from those laws, and now we'd like to share those benefits. We are proud to be giving something back to America, and we are proud to set an example for all industry to follow.”

By my read, that puts us back to square one. Shocking as it may seem, the disconnect is between Congress and those they represent. Immelt did his job and did it well, so my guess would be that he probably is more than qualified to chair the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness and to serve as an economic advisor for the Obama administration. IMO, we can use all the help we can get, so whatever ax you have to grind about how Immelt "pals around" with Obama is probably best taken up with someone who has an interest in grinding said ax. That would not be me.

http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-1135994.html

Taking money from the poor and handing it out in subsidies - is not going to cure deficit either

[ In Reply To ..]
Start with the biggest problem, those who are not paying their taxes. Hire more IRS agents. They bring in $10 in income for every $1 of salary they make, so that's a good investment.

Then, at the same time, work on the fraud and abuse, starting at the largest amount of money being ripped off from us as taxpayers, in fraud, abuse, and/or subsidies.

Then, simplify the tax code.

Sounds like, "But all my friends are doing it" - see message

[ In Reply To ..]
Everyone who takes unfair advantage of loopholes or commits fraud or abuse should be stopped, rich or poor. The rich just are able to do it at a much higher level. They also have accountants and tax advisers who help them negotiate the landmines of the tax code.

Excellent post. Cuts through the bah-loney and gets - straight to the point.

[ In Reply To ..]
A voice of reason. Gotta love it.

I am glad someone who qualified for food stamps - won the lottery

[ In Reply To ..]
I am guessing this is a very rare occurrence, being there are so few lottery winners. I am guessing that lump sum payments did not qualify as it was to protect those who received disability settlements. Now that this has happened and people are aware of it, no doubt it will change, but it has to change at the regulatory level. However, it is a shame that people who can afford goods, will still take government handouts--i.e. the oil companies who take $21 BILLION in tax breaks.

I have to admit I found this story uplifting for the very same reasons - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
that a food stamp recipient won the lottery and that he immediately informed Human Services of his change in status. He did what he was supposed to do. Instead of faulting this guy for using benefits he is lawfully qualified for, why not recognize that by notifying the state of his change in status, his case has spurred an immediate review of the policies and that measures are being taken to close the loophole?

Now, where is the outrage over those Big 5 wonton welfare queens and their $21 BILLION?

Tell me something. If you won that much money - would you bother to use food stamps?

[ In Reply To ..]
I doubt that he did.

He was told to keep them and his eligibility was reaffirmed. - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
What I would not do under these circmstances is (a) try to send them back, since it had been made clear that they would just keep on coming, (b) throw them out, or (c) ignore them. For as long as it remains lawful, I would use them for the purpose they were intended, buying food, and would do so with a clean conscience, with full knowledge that the loophole was under scrutiny and subject to change at a moment's notice.

That is just me. I do not pretend to know whether of not Mr. Fick would "bother" to use them, but judging by his statement in the interview ("If you're going to...try to make me feel bad, you aren't going to do it"), I suspect he just might, especially since more than half of the lottery winnings went into the tax coffers. For any amount of benefits he may receive between now and the time he is disqualified, he will have paid for that food hundreds of times over.

If I was in that position, I would use them and - Backwards Typist

[ In Reply To ..]
spend every cent, then turn all that food over to the food pantry. I think that's what he should do.

It just made me angry when he said it wasn't going to make him feel bad, but I think if he had said he spends the stamps and gives all the food to a food pantry, then he wouldn't be judged so harshly.

Good point. - Trigger Happy

[ In Reply To ..]
I think if the guy had a nicer attitude about the whole thing, perhaps people wouldn't be so annoyed about the whole thing. I totally agree that using those food stamps and giving the food away to a food pantry would pacify all of us. However, something should be done about the system. A man who wins the lottery shouldn't still be getting food stamps...ya know?

I agree with you. That money should be considered income - Backwards Typist

[ In Reply To ..]
no matter what. I think this guy is arrogant. His attitude is that of many people have nowadays and it's disheartening to say the least.

On the other hand, I know a man and his wife who did hard time for a similar abuse - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
He did the time first and when he got out, they put his wife in. They didn't put them both in prison at once because they had children, which was thoughtful since they were not threat to anyone but themselves.

Why are you implying that this lawful use of benefits is abuse? - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Welfare fraud is the intentional withholding of information, or use of inaccurate or false information when obtaining or maintaining a benefits claim. Mr. Frick qualified for benefits, both before and after winning the lottery. He was forthcoming about his change in status. The only way this could be fraud would be if he intentionally took a one-time payout for the expressed purpose of maintaining his eligility for the program, highly unlikely, since that one decision ultimately cost him around $1 million.

Penalties for welfare fraud rarely include hard time (i.e. a PRISON sentence). Typically, suspension of welfare privileges for one year, fines and short-stay jail time is more like it. Prison time is given only in the most extreme cases. As for the threat to anyone but themselves, I believe children with role models who engage in criminal activities such as welfare fraud are at increased risk of being drawn into criminal behaviors as adults.

I agree, and parents who do their kids homework - aren't helping either

[ In Reply To ..]
Everyone seems to like to talk about the welfare queen down the street, but I have seen parents do their kids 4-H projects, brag around their kids about "getting a good deal" (basically cheating someone), etc. I am not surprised that some of these kids are basic brats. When I was in elementary school I recall being graded on "citizenship". Do they do that anymore? Basically, it was do you clean up after yourself, are you polite, no cheating, etc.

$850K isn't very much money out here in Cali. - You can barely buy a house with that.

[ In Reply To ..]

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