Lottery Winner Still Collecting Food Stamps

When Leroy Fink won $2 million on a televised lottery game 11 months ago, many assumed that he would be living the high life from that point on. The Michigan man, 52, won the money on the show “Make Me Rich!” last June and the fact that he was buying groceries with food stamps up until that point meant that few could begrudge him the money. However, nearly a year later and news has emerged that Fick is still collecting and using the food stamps thanks to a loophole in the law that states that eligibility is determined by income and not assets. The story, in today's

, quoted Fick as saying on WNEM-TV in Saginaw, "If you're going to try to make me feel bad, you're not going to do it." Meanwhile, Sen. Rick Jones pointed out that, "For Leroy Fick to continue to use a Bridge Card, paid for by the taxpayers, after winning the lottery, is obscene. What a waste of taxpayer money. " Jones went on to point out that, as the law stands, there's nothing that the state of Michigan can do. "There is no liquid asset requirement for getting food stamps," Jones said. "The department is asking the federal government for an immediate change (in policy). They're hoping this case will help the federal government act." Mr. Fick. Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.