A man who won a $2 million dollar lottery jackpot is still collecting food stamps and he could care less what anybody thinks about it.
Leroy Fick of Bay County, Michigan won the “Make Me Rich” lottery last June. After taxes he took home about $850,000. The state wants him off food stamps, but the Department of Human Services says “lump sum” payments are assets, not income – leaving Fick eligible to still receive help from the government.
“If the state has got a problem with their laws they should fix them,” Fick said defiantly. “If I’m eligible, I’m eligible right?”
Fick’s attorney John Wilson says his client bought a used Audi and a house with part of the money and invested the rest. According to eligibility rules qualifies for state assistance of “far less than $5,000 for the year.”
Gisgie Davila Gendreau, a state human services department spokeswoman said “we are actively seeking a change to the food assistance policy, which is a federal policy, to ensure that those who are truly needy qualify,”
Democratic state representative Charles Brunner thinks the state needs to change their bridge card laws right away.
“It outrages me that a guy that drives a brand new Audi — has a million dollars in the bank essentially, can still qualify for food stamps, that’s wrong,” Brunner told WEYI.
For his part Fick isn’t at all worried, and aside from unwanted media attention he’s ok with continuing to leach off the state.
“If you’re going to … try to make me feel bad, you aren’t going to do it,” Fick told WNEM.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
