Woman says Maine’s Mega Millions winner is using lawsuit to pressure her in child custody case

The ex-girlfriend of Maine’s anonymous $1.35 billion lottery winner is accusing him of filing a lawsuit against her not to protect his identity but to bully her into giving him primary custody of their young daughter.

Nearly a year after winning the Mega Millions, the man filed a lawsuit against the unnamed woman, alleging she violated a non-disclosure agreement to not tell anyone that he was Maine’s mysterious multimillionaire. He has asked the court to order her to pay him $100,000 in damages.

The man sued her in U.S. District Court in Portland last fall, alleging she told his father about the winning ticket after signing the agreement to protect his identity and information surrounding how much he won, and how much he’s giving to their child. The lawsuit confirmed he lives in Maine, but does not specify where, and neither party is identified by their real name.

But in new court filings this week, the woman said he was actually the one who told his father about the money. His father backed this up in a signed statement filed with the court.

The lottery winner collected his winnings, about $723.5 million after taxes, through an LLC registered in Delaware. Under Maine law, that was enough to claim the prize without publicly identifying himself.

Daniel Nuzzi, an attorney for the woman, said in court filings that the lawsuit is based on false allegations and was brought for “an improper purpose, namely, coercing, intimidating and pressuring” her in an ongoing child custody and support matter.

The man’s attorney, Greg Brown, said in an email Thursday that the defendant’s claims have “no merit.”

The woman, who lives in Dracut, Massachusetts, filed a motion Wednesday asking the court to issue sanctions against her ex for filing an inaccurate complaint. That motion is sealed, but several exhibits, including a sworn statement from herself and her attorney, were publicly available Thursday morning. (The exhibits were later sealed after the Portland Press Herald reached out to Brown for comment).

The woman said the lawsuit is the latest in a series of instances in which her ex-partner has used his newly acquired wealth to pressure her into giving him primary custody.

The two have known each other for 17 years and were in a long-term relationship until 2020, she said. They share a 9-year-old daughter and their parenting relationship was amicable before 2023, according to her account.

“This changed after he won the lottery,” she wrote.

The woman said she signed the non-disclosure agreement last February and wasn’t aware of anyone else who was asked to sign one.

“It is my belief that plaintiff has also disclosed the fact and amount of his lottery winnings with a number of other people and has given them permission to tell others without seeking or obtaining non-disclosure agreements,” she wrote.

KIDNAPPING RISK RAISED

She said that after meeting with him and his financial adviser last year, he sent her a message that his “security team” could take their daughter from her at any time. He later told her his “security team” believed their daughter was at risk of kidnapping and convinced her that he had to take the girl away for four to six weeks for her safety, but promised she would be wearing a GPS watch the whole time so the woman could follow her whereabouts, according to court filings.

About a week later, he turned off the GPS watch and mailed it back to her, she said. Then the girl’s school told her they had received a letter from his lawyer saying their daughter would not be returning to school this year, court filings state.

“This was extremely distressing and made me concerned for my daughter and her safety and well being,” she wrote. He “would not tell me their plans or location during this time period, and I became fearful that (he) had kidnapped our child.”

When she got her attorneys involved, she says the father tried to offer her money in exchange for primary custody.

“I could not and would not agree to this sort of arrangement involving taking money for my child,” she said.

The girl was returned to her mother in mid-March after she filed an emergency motion in state court. Their custody case remains active, but it’s unclear in which state they’re litigating.