Carl McCain wins Mega Millions drawing, but money was kept for debt he didn’t owe after someone used his Social Security number

TIMBERLAKE, N.C. — A North Carolina man won the lottery but couldn’t immediately collect his winnings. Carl McCain tried his luck in the Nov. 4 Mega Millions drawing and matched four numbers. He says, “It was a four times winner, so it was $800 that I won.”

Because of the size of the prize, McCain had to travel from his Timberlake home to the North Carolina Education Lottery’s regional office in Raleigh to claim his winnings.

“I filled the form out and give them my ticket, and I sit down and wait,” McCain said.

Instead of receiving a check, McCain says he was handed paperwork explaining that under the North Carolina State Lottery Act, if a winner owes a debt to state or local agencies, lottery winnings, minus taxes, are applied to that debt.

McCain says a lottery employee told him, “These two counties you owe money are Lenoir County and Wayne County. I said, well, I never been there before. I don’t know anybody there.”

McCain says he contacted both counties and provided his name and birthdate, but was told there was no debt. However, when he gave his Social Security number, he says he was told, “Another man’s number name is hitting off your Social Security number.”

McCain says that was the first time he had ever heard of the issue. He wanted more information, but says he was told it couldn’t be released. He says the counties told him they would look into it. After waiting more than a month with no answers, McCain says he called several more times and was told officials were still investigating.

That’s when he decided to contact 11 Troubleshooter Diane Wilson with our Raleigh sister station. McCain says to Wilson, “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?”

11 Troubleshooter reached out to the North Carolina Education Lottery, which confirmed McCain’s winnings were processed properly and sent to Lenoir County. When Wilson contacted representatives in Lenoir County, they said they had been looking into the issue for more than a month and were still working on it. Shortly after Wilson’s inquiry, McCain received good news. He says, “They erased my Social Security number out of their databank.”

Within days, McCain received a check for his lottery winnings, minus the required taxes. He later told Wilson, “I was glad that you intervened and came to my rescue.”

Lenoir County says the debt tied to McCain’s Social Security number dates back more than ten years and may have been a case of mistaken identity. It’s still unclear how the error occurred. The bottom line: McCain finally got his lottery winnings and says he’s still trying his luck.