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Group of friends deny share of $1 million lottery winnings to Canadian man, he sues them
The 16 defendants in the case are claiming that they were not friends with Philip or even knew him at all.
A man named Philip Tsotsos from Canada has filed a lawsuit against 16 of his former co-workers for not giving his share of $1 million lottery winnings after being in ticket pool with them for seven years.
In 2021, the syndicate won big from the Max Lotto ticket. But while each of his 16 friends received $62,500 from the winnings, Philip was not given a single penny. In the civil suit filed, Philip is claiming to be the seventeenth winner. Notably, had Philip been given his share, his 16 friends would have still received $58,000.
“I took care of these guys like they were family,” Tsotsos told The U.S. Sun.
“These are my friends. It hurts here,” he said, pointing to his heart, “more than it hurts my wallet.”
Through the lawsuit, Philip is aiming to get $70,000 and costs plus interest.
“I’m not backing off on this until I see it through. They f**ked me and I will have my day in court over this,” he said.
Meanwhile, the 16 defendants in the case are claiming that they were not friends with Philip or even knew him at all.
“The defendants specifically deny that any of them were ever ‘close friends’ or ‘good friends’ with the plaintiff. Some of the defendants were the plaintiff’s co-workers. Others did not know him at all,” said the statement of defense document.
Philip has claimed that he didn't know everyone in the syndicate, as some were from another workplace but he was good friends with others.
“So for seven years, I was good…in two weeks I became Jeffrey Dahmer when it comes to the lottery. I became some monster they couldn’t trust,” Philip told The Sun.
