Husband Who Hid $1.5 Million Lottery Win From Wife Pays Dearly

Photo: Getty Images

When people get married, typically the line "for richer or for poorer," is uttered but one husband didn't seem to really take that to heart. That's because he won the lottery and hid the prize money from his wife. Now, he is facing the consequences.

It happened in China, where a guy won 10 million yuan, or $1.5 million, in the lottery two years ago. One would think his spouse would be the first person he told, but actually she was one of the last to find out since he chose to conceal it from her. The day the money was deposited into his account, he transferred $300,000 to his sister, and later he spent $100,000 to buy his ex-wife an apartment.

Not surprisingly, his wife eventually found out about what was going on and filed for divorce. During the proceedings, she sought to have all their property equally split, including the remaining winnings, and asked the court to have her soon-to-be ex-husband pay her two-thirds of the $400,000 he gave to his sister and ex. Finding that the man had gone to great lengths to hide that money from his spouse, the court ruled it constituted embezzling and agreed he should pay her $240,000.

Interestingly, it isn't the first time a lottery winner has hidden their jackpot from their family. Last year, a man won $32 million there but told the media he planned to keep the news from his family so they wouldn't become "conceited."