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California Grandma Struggling to Pay Her Bills Claims $23 Million Lotto Prize Just in Time

Nov. 3, 2012 8:13am Madeleine Morgenstern

California Grandma Julie Cervera Struggling to Pay Her Bills Claims $23 Million Lotto Prize Just in Time

Lottery winner Julie Cervera, center, looks at her recently dead son pictured on a tattoo, as she is hugged by her grandson Rudy Ray, left, and daughter Charliena Marquez, right, after a news conference in San Bernardino, Calif., Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. (AP)

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — For more than five months – while Julie Cervera struggled to pay a $600 electrical bill, feed her family and keep the cable company from shutting off her service because she couldn’t pay – she was a millionaire without knowing it.

Meanwhile, her $23 million lottery ticket languished forgotten in the glove compartment of her car.

On Thursday, someone texted her a photo of her daughter, Charliena Marquez, buying the winning ticket for her at a Palmdale Liquor store. The photo had been released by lottery officials searching for the mysterious winner of the May drawing.

“I put my 99-cent glasses on, and I had to put two pairs on to see it,” said Cervera, 69, of Victorville. She recognized her daughter in the grainy photo, but she still couldn’t read the caption.

“I thought she robbed a bank because I couldn’t see the words on top,” Cervera said with a laugh. “So I put on a third pair (of glasses) and it said she won. I was like, `No way!’”

Back in May, mother and daughter were driving home together when Marquez felt queasy and asked her mother to pull over so she could buy a bottle of water.

“She always gets carsick,” Cervera said.

Cervera asked her daughter to buy her a lottery ticket and dug in her purse trying to find a dollar. Marquez protested but eventually used her own money to purchase a Super Lotto Plus ticket for her mom.

“I put it in my new car. It’s an old car but it’s new to me. It’s been there for five months,” Cervera said Friday at a news conference with her three adult children and half a dozen grandchildren lined up behind her. “I’ve got like 200 tickets laying around my house. I never check my tickets.”

But when she finally looked in the glove compartment, the winning ticket was right where she left it. It was set to expire Nov. 26, so the California Lottery went looking for the winner.

Officials found the surveillance video from Michael’s Market and Liquor and released the photo, which Cervera’s other daughter spotted in the Antelope Valley Press.

Marquez initially dismissed calls and texts from friends and family who recognized her in the photo.

“My sister called at 11 o’clock at night and woke me up. She said, `This girl is you.’ I said, `No, it’s not me,’ because I hadn’t seen it yet,” she said.

It wasn’t until the next morning that Marquez realized she had bought the winning ticket that would help her mother and her entire family for years to come.

Cervera, a widow who has lived on disability for 20 years, said her family has been through difficult times recently. Last year her 47-year-old son Rudy was killed in a motorcycle accident, leaving four teenage children.

“I’d give it all up to have my son here again,” she said and began to cry. Her oldest grandson, Rudy Jr., hugged her and the whole family wiped away tears.

“My grandkids are all going to be taken care of, and my (three) daughters,” she said. “I’m just so happy. I’m going to buy me a pair of Reeboks.”

She also has two adopted sons, ages 5 and 9, who have developmental disabilities.

“A big portion is going to them, so that when I’m gone they’ll be OK,” she said. “I’m going to take them to Disneyland. I really am! And we’re going to pay for everything.”

Cervera had only 180 days to claim her prize. If she hadn’t acted, the millions would have gone to California schools. A $52 million jackpot winner in Fremont was found in August by a similar public appeal by lottery officials.

In the last fiscal year, more than $20.5 million in cash prizes went unclaimed.

Cervera said she would take a one-time cash payment of $17.8 million.

“I’m not going to be here 30 years from now,” she said.

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Comments (34)

Adi0s
Posted on November 4, 2012 at 1:30pm
She’s a 47%er for whom the system worked. As a 1%er, I hope she gets sound financial advise from a reputable source, especially if she plans to stretch the $ that much.

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LeadNotFollow
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 9:22pm
.
Bet her Grandson is thinking “I can buy a lot of tattoos with 23 Million dollars”.

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sizzler2220
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 3:38pm
I love it. She is so poor, she adopts two more kids so she can get more state aid. Bet you 10 dollars she and hers are illegal.

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AlmostaCowboy
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 12:29pm
It’ll be gone in 18 months.

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BeingThere
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 12:26pm
BTW, if this family came here legally then I’m happy for them, if not, then they should not get the money!!!

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BeingThere
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 12:24pm
Just enough to buy the entire Julio Iglesias cd collection! :-)

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whatdoibelieve
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 12:19pm
Cancel cable and don’t play the lottery and maybe you would be able to afford your necessities… like electricity.

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Abigail Adams
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 12:04pm
Listen to all the haters. I guess people don’t have to be rich to be a Scrooge.

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piper60
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 11:52am
It sound like the lottery finally went to somebody who can really use it. I hope she puts a bunch of it into a trust fund for the 2 kids with the disabilities.

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Halloween
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 11:46am
More illegal aliens taking money meant for Americans.

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forthepeople
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 10:55am
Good things happen to good people , now its American turn in 4 days ?

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chucksue351
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 10:52am
it is a shame that american’s have gotten to the point that gambling is considered a “way to make a living”, no wonder that Father YHVH is showering the country with such disasters as the monster storm in the east, wake up america while it is today and repent

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- PATTY HENRY
  Posted on November 3, 2012 at 11:21am
  Romans 8:28
  
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- Halloween
  Posted on November 3, 2012 at 11:36am
  Chargers 13 – 31
  
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TheVolleyballGod
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 9:41am
It is so wonderful to see government officials at the California Lottery headquarters actually work hard with caring passion and earn their money and go all out and try to find the winner of the lottery prize. Here in Connecticut the government does as little as possible and do all they can to not find the winners of unclaimed tickets so they can keep the money, all they offer up here is the “county” in which it was purchased, they wont even mention the name of the town or city where the ticket was brought…. disgusting!

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- jcldwl
  Posted on November 3, 2012 at 9:55am
  Great for her. Now she needs to move out of California and buy some land, gold, and silver.
  
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- Wisdom7
  Posted on November 4, 2012 at 12:55am
  Where I live the same guy wins the lottery twice at the same exact gas station. Tell me the odds of that! It’s all rigged.
  
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kvan
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 9:29am
Come on people, everybody should be happy for this woman and her family. I don’t understand all the snide remarks from some of you, there is no excuse for this type of behavior!

I am a Proud Conservative, Vote Romney/Ryan 2012.

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- Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
  Posted on November 3, 2012 at 9:39am
  I am happy for her, I hope and pray she will use the funds wisely and not blow it suddenly and go into debt as some winners do.
  
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- Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
  Posted on November 3, 2012 at 9:45am
  Just some basic info on where this lady lives for the cynics:
  
  San Bernandio average electric rates do exceed $500 monthly in the summer peak rates; so this may be the time she referenced with a large electric bill.
  
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- kvan
  Posted on November 3, 2012 at 10:22am
  @snowleopard, Thanks. We lived in Ontario, Ca for a couple years and as I remember the electric bills during the summers were over $300 a month for a 2 bedroom apartment but didn’t have any idea how expensive electricity had become in the last few years.
  
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- izzy1127
  Posted on November 3, 2012 at 10:44am
  I was planning on sharing this story to FB, but with all the negative remarks, not gonna do it. But it’s so nice to see someone win who really needs the cash. GOD has blessed her. R/R 2012
  
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RIGHTHOOK
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 9:21am
Questionable in terms of the word “responsible” when seeing the photo of gangster, tatted up son.
That’s San Bernardino and neighboring cities; gangbangerville. That completely broke and fiscally irresponsible city will be looking to her for some of that cash ASAP!

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watashbuddyfriend
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 9:20am
Good report! I sure hope Julie is able to manage it well. Shame she has to share it with the wastefull spenders: State of CA, and Fed.

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chershaw8
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 9:14am
The Feds will take 20 mil., the state will take all but a hundred bucks, that’s what she’ll have left only to put toward her electric bill…..

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satman40
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 9:01am
Give her a year and she will be broke.

Welfare is a way of life…

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- Proverbs17-12NLT
  Posted on November 3, 2012 at 9:37am
  Satman, that’s an assumption on your part. It could take one and a half years to go broke
  
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dirtydog1776
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 8:57am
The story tells the family can afford tattooers, designer clothes and sunglasses, lottery tickets, motorcycles, cable TV and bottled water……things I can’t afford as a working American.

Are we suppose to feel sorry or something?

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SanDiegoTarheel
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 8:52am
Why does she have a $600 electric bill? Is she heating and cooling San Bernadino?

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- Proverbs17-12NLT
  Posted on November 3, 2012 at 9:08am
  Growing dope in the basement.
  
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pcbdeb
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 8:41am
Please, please get an honest financial planner who will help you invest the lump sum so you can live sensibly off of the interest. Even if you can’t convince a small neighborhood bank to give you more than 1% interest (and should give you 1.5-2%), 1% annually is $170,000. That will go a long way when you have been barely scraping by. It will go much farther in a state with a lower cost of living than California or a state with no state income tax. I wish your family the best!

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Cemoto78
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 8:29am
Good for her, I hope she spreads the wealth around a little!!!

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woodyee
Posted on November 3, 2012 at 8:27am
“For more than five months – while Julie Cervera struggled to pay a $600 electrical bill, feed her family and keep the cable company from shutting off her service because she couldn’t pay…”

Priorities, anyone?

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- Eastinfection
  Posted on November 3, 2012 at 9:49am
  “I’ve got like 200 tickets laying around my house. I never check my tickets.”…. lol
  
  Tickets cost $1 each…. so $200 worth of tickets?
  
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