one of the winners who shared the $1.5 billion powerball jackpot succumbed within days to a cocaine overdose.
one of the winners who shared the $1.5 billion powerball jackpot succumbed within days to a cocaine overdose.
false: winner of 1.5b powerball jackpot dies of cocaine overdose
one of the multitude of news stories (exaggerated, fictional, and occasionally real) that hit social media in the wake of the record $1.5 billion powerball lottery jackpot (shared by three winners) in mid-january 2016 was the tale of a putative california winner who supposedly took out a loan against his forthcoming lump sum lottery payment and quickly succumbed to a cocaine overdose while surrounded by prostitutes:


































1 of the 3 $1.5b powerball jackpot winners was found in his new multi-million dollar home dead of an accidental cocaine overdose.


































32 year-old james hugston was 1 of the 3 lucky winners to hit the billion dollar jackpot. he received an estimated $327 million lump sum. now most people are aware it takes 4-8 weeks to collect your money after you put in a claim. but mr. hugston couldn’t wait and took out a loan from a money lender to start blowing his millions immediately. his first purchase was a multi-million dollar furnished home.


































rick kingston a close friends of james said he was trying to keep his identity a secret and was doing it well by quickly moving out his 2 bedroom apartment where he lived with his girlfriend who he broke up with once he won.


































at the multi-million dollar home where james hugston was found dead over a kilo of cocaine was found close friend rick kingston said “james went crazy fast! first he bought this huge house then cocaine and invited over 10 hookers from backpage” a website know for prostitution.


































there was nothing to this story, however: it was just another bit of fake news from tmzworldstar.com, a site known for publishing fantastically fictional stories (cribbed from other fake news sites) such as a report of a man’s marrying a baby and an article proclaiming that jaden smith was planning on undergoing a penectomy for his 18th birthday.


































as of this writing, the california-based winner who will be sharing one-third of the record powerball jackpot has not yet been publicly identified.


































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another powerball-related fake news story claims one "lucky" winner was found dead with a kilo of cocaine.
one of the 3 $1.5b powerball jackpot winners was found in his new multi-million dollar home dead of an accidental cocaine overdose. there was nothing to this story, however: it was just another bit of fake news from tmzworldstar.com, a site known for publishing fantastically fictional stories. as of this writing, the california-based winner has not yet been publicly identified.