A Spokane man has pleaded guilty to stealing lottery winnings from the widow of former Hermiston Police Chief Andy Anderson.
According to the Tri-City Herald, Scott K. Brett, 55, could face more than four years in federal prison after changing his plea to guilty of wire fraud in a hearing at the Richland federal courthouse. He could be ordered to repay $855,000.
Donna Anderson bought the winning ticket for an $18.2 million jackpot in 2003. At the time, it was the third-largest prize in Oregon Megabucks history.
In 2011, she wanted to take the money she had invested with Merrill Lynch in Kennewick and invest it elsewhere to increase earnings, according to court documents. The former chief, who retired in 2001, died of cancer in 2008.
According to the Herald article, a friend of one of the couple’s 10 children and stepchildren recommended that she work with Brett to invest what court documents referred to as her “remaining lottery winnings.”
According to a plea agreement filed in federal court, on Feb. 10 Donna Anderson had $1 million transferred by wire into an escrow account to be used as collateral as part of “a proprietary financial system.”
The $1 million was supposed to double in two weeks, allowing Donna Anderson to remove $1 million and leave her original investment in the escrow account. She was told her money would continue to double every two weeks until it reached $8 million.
Instead, Brett made withdrawals from the escrow account, paying money to people other than Donna Anderson, according to the plea agreement.
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