Worker and Boss to Split $500K Lottery Prize After Legal Spat

No more. The dispute between Jose Quinteros and his employee, Jorge Rivera Palma, which started over a year ago can now come to a halt. The legal dispute has come to a grinding halt with Judge Xollie Duncan in Benton County, Arkansas ordering the duo to split the prize and put an end to what has been a year of litigation.

Ownership of $500K Lottery Ticket Brought to Court

Back on February 2, 2023, the pair purchased four lottery tickets which they agreed to use and split any ensuing prizes equally.

However, Palma insisted that this was not exactly the case. In his arguments to the court, he acknowledged that his boss had given him the money for two tickets, but he also opted to buy two tickets for himself separately – and independently of any original agreement the two men might have had.

There was never an agreement to split the money from the second pair of tickets, Palma argued. His boss, Quinteros, brought the matter before the court and argued that Palma had never informed him about the distinction, insisting instead that all four tickets were purchased as part of the original agreement.

The money has been withheld by the court for safekeeping since November 2023, as the fight continued. Quinteros said that the pair had been playing together habitually, splitting ticket costs, and using any proceeds to buy more tickets.

This was the case now, Quinteros insisted, arguing that all four tickets were purchased with the money won from the last tickets. Palma was similarly excited about the initial news of finding out that they had won $500,000. He asked his boss if he could drive over and give him the ticket to show to his nephew.

Reward That Was Never Paid Finally Go to Plaintiff

Quinteros – he insisted before the court – gladly agreed, suspecting no foul play on the part of his employee. But then, Palma never came out of the house and never returned the ticket. When Quinteros called the employee from his car and asked what that was about, Palma said that he would cash in the ticket the very next day.

Quinteros complained to the court that Palma and his nephew – who is also named in the lawsuit as Marco Corado Erazo – cashed the winnings and never delivered on a promise to give Quinteros his half of the winnings.

The original argument put forward by Erazo and Palma was not accepted by Judge Duncan who said that Quinteros was right to seek, demand, and receive $177,750, which is half of the total amount and calculated based on the amount the lottery pays out of the $355,500 after taxes.