Alleged Mega Millions Winner Outed as a Fraud on Reddit

According to their website, the likelihood of scoring the Mega Millions jackpot is slim to none — 1 in 302,575,350 to be exact. With odds like that, it comes as no surprise that shortly after a Reddit user went viral for hosting an ‘ask-me-anything’ (AMA) thread about their alleged Mega Millions jackpot win in 2016, another user quickly debunked their claims. Scroll to learn how the original user was outed as fraud and read a few of their answers from the exposed AMA.  

Reddit user’s claims of a 2016 Mega Millions jackpot proved false

After going viral for an AMA post titled “I won the MegaMillions jackpot in 2016,” earlier this week, Reddit user @Opposite-Purpose365 was outed as a fraud by several users. 

The user claimed to be a resident of Ohio who played Mega Millions whenever the jackpot went over $130 million.  

In the initial post, @Opposite-Purpose365 said that, after winning the jackpot, their family members ”filed a lawsuit to try to place me in conservatorship to take control of my assets.”  

This claim was a red flag to a few users including @ObjectiveToAFault, who raised questions regarding the original poster’s lack of attorney involvement in familial asset allocation.  

 One of the most revealing incongruences in the original poster’s story was that, according to the Mega Millions website, no one from Ohio won the jackpot in 2016. 

@Opposite-Purpose365’s post was reported and has since been removed by the moderators of r/AMA.  

Interesting AMA questions and responses from fraudulent Mega Millions winner

Despite the dishonesty of @Opposite-Purpose365’s viral post, the Q&A section of their AMA offered insight into what people are most interested in when it comes to Mega Millions’ winners.  

Several users were curious about how the alleged winner’s life changed following their jackpot win. 

“The biggest lifestyle change has been moving onto my off-grid, subsistence farm,” said @Opposite-Purpose365. “Buying a farm was always my retirement plan. I simply retired sooner.” 

Other users asked if there were any large initial purchases they regret spending the money on looking back. 

@Opposite-Purpose365 shared that they almost bought a 98” flat screen but decided against it after reading reviews. Of the purchases they did make, their tractor was one they wished to reverse: “I don’t use it nearly as much as I thought I would.” 

Reddit users’ reaction to the fraudulent Mega Millions winner

The entire thread dedicated to user dishonesty on the website, that the alleged Mega Millions winner was exposed as a fraud did not surprise many Reddit users.  

“Are you implying someone on reddit lied? I find that so hard to believe,” said one user replying to the situation with sarcasm. “I think I was only lied to twice in my life. Once was after I was rescued off the Titanic and then after I bought the London Bridge after I found the world’s biggest gold nugget while fishing in Illinois.” 

Other users responded more pragmatically, citing several incongruences in the initial poster’s Reddit history.  

“He also said he was single and 50 in one thread and in another said he was saving money for his future wife and kids he wants one day,” said one user about previous posts on @Opposite-Purpose365’s Reddit account.