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By Marni Rose McFall
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A North Carolina man had a lucky moment winning the lottery, but his fortunes quickly changed when he couldn’t withdraw his winnings due to debt he didn’t owe.
Why It Matters
Nearly half of U.S. adults play the lottery each year, according to a 2016 Gallup poll. While people from all socioeconomic backgrounds play, a 2023 study from the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism found that frequent players are often from lower-income communities.
Read More on News
While playing the lottery is a regular occurrence for many Americans, lottery winners and their varying fortunes can often make headlines. In 2025, one woman lost a winning ticket for $2.5 million in a moment of bad luck. On the other hand, one couple had particularly good fortune by managing to win the lottery twice.
U.S. lottery sales generate high revenue, and the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL) reported that total U.S. lottery sales surpassed $113 billion in the fiscal year from 2022 to 2023.
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What To Know
The man, Carl McCain, told North Carolina's ABC11 Eyewitness News that he tried his luck in the Mega Ball on November 4. He drew and matched four numbers, winning $800. Given the size of the prize, McCain needed to travel to the North Carolina Education Lottery's regional office in Raleigh to claim it.
That’s when things went awry.
McCain told the outlet that he’d sat down to wait and collect his winnings, but that he was handed paperwork explaining that under the North Carolina State Lottery Act, if a winner owes a debt to either state or local agencies, winnings are applied to that debt.
The counties were Lenoir County and Wayne County, but McCain told ABC11*,* “Well, I never been there before. I don't know anybody there."
After contacting the counties and being told there was no debt, McCain uncovered the problem.
He first gave his name and birth date and was told there was no debt, but when he gave his Social Security number, he was told, “Another man's number name is hitting off your Social Security number."
When he asked for more information, he said he was told that it couldn't be released. After waiting a month with no answers, he reached out to ABC11 troubleshooter Diane Wilson, who began investigating.
Shortly after Wilson spoke with Lenoir County representatives, McCain said he was told that "they erased my Social Security number out of their databank." He received a check "within days."
The county said it's unclear how the error occurred, but it may be a case of mistaken identity.
What People Are Saying
Carl McCain told ABC11: "It was a four-time winner, so it was $800 that I won…I told my wife, I said, 'You know, we need to call Diane Wilson.' I said, because I seen her get refrigerators and washing machines, so why can't she get $800 for me?"
What Happens Next
McCain told ABC11 that, despite the experience, he'll continue playing the lottery.
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