The $167 million man who keeps ending up in handcuffs

James Farthing won $167.3 million playing Powerball in April 2025. It was the largest jackpot in Kentucky Lottery history. For most winners, that kind of money buys a quiet exit from the spotlight. For Farthing, it's done the opposite.

He was arrested again early Sunday morning, this time in Scott County, Kentucky. It's the latest entry on a list that keeps growing.

What happened this time

Deputies got a call around 2:57 a.m. ET on September 20th. A white Ford Mustang with a temporary tag was stopped in the middle of an intersection in Georgetown. The car later pulled into a Walmart parking lot and parked near the EV charging stations.

When a deputy arrived, he claimed the Mustang was still running, and Farthing was asleep inside, alone. He didn't respond at first. He woke up only after deputies knocked on the window several times.

The deputy's citation lists the usual signs: the smell of alcohol and marijuana, bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and trouble keeping his balance. Farthing told deputies a woman had dropped him off and left. Surveillance footage told a different story. It showed the Mustang pull in with Farthing already inside, and no one else got out.

Deputies called him "manifestly under the influence of alcohol." They arrested him around four in the morning and charged him with alcohol intoxication in a public place. His arraignment was set for September 22nd for the Scott County District Court.

This isn't new

Farthing's name has shown up in police reports on a near-monthly basis since his win. In July, he was arrested in Scott County on charges of first-degree strangulation and fourth-degree assault after a woman reported an altercation following a boating trip. Deputies documented visible injuries. He pleaded not guilty. A judge set bond at $15,000, ordered no contact with the alleged victim, and required a monitoring device.

Before that, in March, Lexington police responded to a burglary call. A woman said Farthing broke into her home through a side door and took $12,000 in cash from her bedroom. He was found later that evening in the Red Mile Gaming & Racing parking lot and charged with second-degree burglary and marijuana possession. He posted a $10,000 bond.

Go back further, and the pattern holds. Days after he claimed his prize in 2025, Florida police arrested him for an alleged assault. In February 2026, police responded to a domestic call in Kentucky where a woman said a man at her house was armed and threatening her. They found a gun and marijuana on scene; Farthing was charged with intimidating a witness. He's also faced a hit-and-run charge in Lexington, and a separate Fayette County burglary and marijuana case that was later dismissed.

A record that predates the jackpot

Farthing's trouble with the law didn't start with his win. Court records show he was on parole until August 2025 for a string of earlier Kentucky charges: tampering with evidence, engaging in organized crime, drug offenses, receiving stolen property, and theft by unlawful taking.