Jury: NJ Man Swindled Co-Workers of $38.5M Lotto Jackpot

A lawyer for five construction workers says they have been awarded $4 million each by a New Jersey jury that concluded a co-worker cheated them out of their share of a lottery jackpot.

The jury in Superior Court in Elizabeth on Wednesday rejected the claims of Americo Lopes that he won the 2009 jackpot on a personal ticket rather than with a ticket he bought for a lottery pool.

Attorney Rubin Sinins represented the five men and says the $38.5 million jackpot was worth $24 million because Lopes chose the cash option.

Court spokeswoman Sandra Thaler-Gerber said earlier in the day that each plaintiff would get a pre-tax payment of $2 million. She did not return a message seeking information about the discrepancy.

The Star-Ledger of Newark says Lopes left court saying in Portuguese that he had been robbed.

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