ORLANDO, Fla. — Multiple people presented the same story to the ABC Action News I-Team. They won more than $1,000 from the lottery, only to be told they can't collect their winnings because they owed money to the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) — that they were overpaid in unemployment benefits.
But some have never even applied for unemployment and others haven't received unemployment in years and say they never received a notification they owed money. All are left confused and have struggled to get answers from the state's unemployment office.
The ABC Action News I-Team first brought the story to light in January and, in the months since, has connected more than 200 Floridians with DEO. Many have discovered they don't owe DEO anything — and are getting their money back.
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"Oh, that was like magic," Maxine Tunstall said of her January lottery win. “I actually had to check it three or four times because I couldn’t believe it. I mean, no one really hits $10,000, but there it was."
“My son loved playing the lottery tickets and he loved scratching them. So we always get them on holidays and we get them around his birthday and death day to honor him in a way," Tunstall said.
Her son, who she called "Jon Jon," had just turned 21 when she got the news more than four years ago.
“Jon Jon was the light of my life. He was a great kid," Tunstall said. "We have pictures of him walking around in my uniform. And he said his whole life, all he wanted to do was join the military."
He did.
“But once he was in the military, unfortunately, we got a notification on the door on Sunday morning telling us he had died. He had took his own life," Tunstall said.
When she won, she felt her son with her.
“He’s always said, ‘Mommy, I’m going to take care of you when I get older. You don’t have to worry about anything," Tunstall said. "I bust out laughing and I was like yeah, ok, Jon Jon's still with me. He’s still got, Momma.”
But that excitement was quickly replaced with confusion, concern, and frustration when she was told she owed money to the state's unemployment office.
In 2021, more than a year before Tunstall won the $10,000 scratch-off, she received a letter from DEO alerting her of fraud detected on her unemployment account she hadn't used in over five years.
“I did nothing. Because you told me in your letter it’s fraudulent, don’t do anything," Tunstall said of DEO. “So I thought everything was fine."
Everything was fine when she won a $1,000 scratch-off after that letter. But not the $10,000 win. After not being able to collect her lottery money, Tunstall told the I-Team she called DEO every morning for weeks.
Like so many other Floridians tell the I-Team in similar stories, she was never able to get anyone on the phone line.
“If you don’t get a hold of a person that day, you can call the next day and you’re just going to sit on hold for six or seven hours. How is that right? Our lawmakers, they’re saying they’re here to help you. Yet when I went to my lawmakers, they’re telling me there’s nothing they can do.”
After the I-Team got involved, Tunstall heard from the state. She owed nothing.
“Overpaid in reemployment assistance benefits in the amount of $0," Tunstall said, reading a letter from DEO.
She did receive her $10,000 check, minus taxes.
“The thing I don’t understand is that; how many people are going through this?” Tunstall said.
The I-Team obtained public records from the Florida Lottery revealing from Jan. 1, 2022 - Jan. 31, 2023 that it received a "potential outstanding state owed debt alert" for 7,421 people who are said to owe the state's unemployment office.
Checking back on new numbers, the I-Team discovered that so far this year, the lottery office has been flagged to 3,094 winners said to owe DEO money.
Aretha Telemaque, a retired nurse, won $1,000 in 2021, but she could never collect her prize.
“All that time, no call-back, no letter in the mail," she said.
That changed when Telemaque's brother saw our story and called her.
“That’s when I got in touch with you and I’m telling you, it was all good from there. And I do appreciate it," Telemaque said. “I got my $1,000 back and it didn’t take long.”
She received a letter saying she did not owe DEO any money.
Telemaque told the I-Team she hopes by sharing her story, she can help others.
“I know how you feel and I know you can use your money," she said. “This should be looked at further by some higher-ups because it’s just not right.”
In a statement, DEO told the I-Team overpayment procedures are in place to mitigate fraud, but it realizes that "just because an overpayment is flagged in an account, it does not mean that an overpayment has occurred," saying many result from an incomplete claim.
DEO said people should log on to their unemployment accounts to check for any notifications and make sure contact information is updated.
Still, the I-Team continues to hear from Floridians who say they never received a phone call or letter, even if that was noted as the preferred contact method. Others can no longer access their unemployment account because fraud was detected or it has been years since they collected.
This week, the I-Team heard from the latest Floridian, this time from Ft. Myers, who said she was able to go pick up her check after the I-Team got involved.
If you're being told you owe money to DEO over an overpayment in unemployment and have been unsuccessful in getting in contact with the state agency, we want to hear from you. Please fill out this form so we can get your information to DEO.
