News writer
A Wisconsin man thought he'd hit the jackpot — literally. However, his plan to steal lottery tickets, collect the winnings, and avoid paying taxes on those winnings quickly unraveled.
What started as a seemingly harmless act of theft soon turned into a full-blown fraud scheme, leaving the man facing a lengthy sentence, probation, and restitution. His story shows just how far someone will go to cash in on a prize — and how quickly things can spiral out of control when they do.
The lottery scheme
Matthew Buchholz, 42, stole lottery tickets worth between $10,000 and $100,000 from his employer and defrauded the Wisconsin Lottery, according to the criminal complaint obtained by WLUK.
Buchholz then collected the winnings from the stolen tickets. However, he then failed to report any of this income from those winnings on his income tax returns.
According to the complaint, Buchholz allegedly filed tax returns and understated his income by more than $300,500, evading over $20,000 in Wisconsin income tax.
The sentencing
On Wednesday, December 18, 2024, Buchholz pleaded no contest to three counts: theft of movable property, income tax fraud, and theft by false representation. Two other counts — both fraud/rendering income tax return or obtaining a refund with fraudulent intent charges — were dismissed.
After pleading guilty, Buchholz was sentenced to six months in jail by Judge Anthony Lambrecht. Buchholz was facing up to 31 years in prison.
He was also placed on probation for seven years. He also agreed to pay $35,000 in restitution, but a hearing was scheduled for February 25, 2025, to determine the final amount.
During his court appearance, Buchholz declined to comment.
All or nothing
While Buchholz was giving it all or nothing to avoid claiming his illegal lottery winnings, one lucky Wisconsin Lottery player was playing the All or Nothing draw game and winning the top prize of $100,000 recently.
During the Tuesday, December 17, 2024, evening drawing for the All or Nothing draw game, one lucky winner matched zero out of the 11 numbers drawn that night to win the top prize in the game of $100,000.
The winning numbers for that drawing were 1, 3, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, and 21. The winning ticket was purchased at Pioneer Store LLC, located at 12023 Hwy 42 in Ellison Bay.
For the All or Nothing game, players can win the top prize of $100,000 by either matching zero of the 11 numbers drawn or by matching 11 of the 11 numbers drawn. So far in 2024, there have been a total of 17 top-prize winning tickets sold in the state, with eight of those winning tickets matching zero of 11 numbers, including this win in Ellison Bay.
This also happens to be the second time a top-prize winning All or Nothing ticket has been purchased in Door County in 2024. The previous winner purchased their ticket at Tripura Petroleum LLC in Sturgeon Bay for the October 28 drawing.
Any Wisconsin retailer who sell winning lottery tickets over $599 receive a 2% Retailer Performance Program Winning Ticket Incentive, up to $100,000.
These lucky winners have 180 days from the date of the drawing to claim their winnings. The odds of winning the top prize in All or Nothing is 1 in 352,716.
Enjoy playing the Wisconsin Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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