Judge orders assets frozen in ex-couple’s dispute over lotto win

A Manitoba judge has frozen the assets of a woman at the centre of a legal battle over a $5-million lottery ticket, while the courts determine whether her former boyfriend is entitled to any of the winnings.

Court of King’s Bench Justice Brian Bowman approved a temporary injunction that prohibits Krystal Ann McKay from selling or transferring real estate, vehicles or other valuables that have a value greater than $3,500 while the case proceeds.

McKay’s former boyfriend, Lawrence Campbell, has alleged he purchased the winning ticket in January 2024 but allowed McKay to claim it because he did not have an active bank account or government ID. In a statement of claim filed last month, he accused her of ending contact with him after the funds hit her account.

“I thought I was in a good relationship with her and a healthy one. I didn’t think it was going to go this bad for me at the end,” Campbell said Friday, speaking to reporters from a law office on Waterfront Drive.

Campbell said the pair were a couple “on and off” for about eight or nine years. They were living together when he bought the ticket, but do not share any children, he said.

Campbell’s lawyer, Chad Panting, said the injunction will prevent any of the lottery winnings from being hidden or spent.

“That’s what we would do if we were in Krystal’s situation. We would deplete the assets, we would stick cash in our mattress… It’s just human instinct and we’re trying to counter that,” Panting said.

The order only applies to property and items McKay purchased after the $5 million was deposited into her bank account.

The court has compelled her to provide a list of her assets worth more than $3,500, so it can be reviewed by lawyers involved in the case, within two weeks.

Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries and Western Canada Lottery Corp. are named as defendants in the lawsuit The latter is a non-profit that manages lotteries for several provincial and territorial governments, including Lotto 6/49.

The lawsuit claims the Western Canada Lottery Corp. provided improper advice to Campbell, and accuses Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries of having deficient or non-existent oversight when it disbursed the winnings — making both organizations vicariously liable, it said.

In court Friday, McKay was not present but her lawyer, Conor Williamson, attended. He declined to comment.

The claims haven’t been tested in court, and the defendants have not issued statements of defence.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca