‘Winning $57m Powerball ruined my life’

David Edwards was unemployed and living with his parents when he won $57 million in a Powerball jackpot - but it changed his life for the worse.

Winning the lottery is a dream come true but for these unlucky winners, it turned out to be an utter nightmare.

From rags to riches and back to rags, these four ticket holders lost millions to tax fraud, scams, addiction and blowing all their cash on luxury cars and huge mansions, The Sun has reported.

David Edwards

US man David Edwards was a convicted criminal who was unemployed and living with his parents in 2001 when he purchased one of four winning tickets in a $280 million (A$392 million) Powerball jackpot.

He took his payout in a lump sum of $41 million (A$57 million) - $27 million (A$37 million) after taxes.

He then went on a spending spree, buying luxury cars, 200 collectable swords and luxury homes in Florida and California and was estimated to have spent $12 million (A$16.8 million) during the first year alone, according to Money Wise.

David Edwards blew all of his winnings and later died in a Kentucky hospice. Picture: Supplied

He even bought his own jet worth and had a personal pilot.

He also blew his winnings on three losing racehorses and a acquired a fibre optics installation company and a limo business.

Then David and his wife became heavy drug users, according to local reports.

He became so sick from his addiction that he moved into a hospice in Kentucky where he died penniless aged 58.

Alex Toth

When Alex Toth won $13 million (A$13.2 million) from the Florida Lottery in 1990, he took his winnings in instalments, getting an easy $666,666 (A$933,000) annually.

But along with wife Rhoda, he wasted no time splurging their cash on the large ticket items and jetsetting the world, meeting celebrities from Oprah Winfrey to Donald Trump.

Alex Toth was broke and living off welfare payments when he died in 2008. Picture: Florida Police

Alex - who had six kids from past relationships - frittered away much of his winnings on a nasty gambling addiction and once lived in a $1000-a-night (A$1400) Vegas hotel room during a three-month bender.

He also never hired an accountant to deal with his taxes and the couple were later charged with tax fraud, owing the state $2.5 million in overdue charges.

The duo ended up filing for bankruptcy not once, but twice, according to Lotto Exposed.

Sadly, days before the case was set to go to trial, Alex died of a heart attack in 2008 aged just 60.

According to local press, he and his wife were living in squalid conditions in the final years of Alex’s life with their only electricity coming through an extension cord rigged to their car engine.

Rhoda was eventually convicted and sentenced to two years in prison.

Jim Hayes

Jim Hayes was clocking off from an overnight shift as an Los Angeles security guard in 1998 when he discovered he won $19 million (A$26.6 million) playing California’s SuperLotto game.

Promising to “change for the better”, Jim bought six different Lamborghinis and an array of Bentleys, Porches and Corvettes and splashed out on an oceanfront pad and bought other properties in Utah.

Jim Hayes won $19 million from playing a SuperLotto game and turned to robberies to fund his lifestyle. Picture: The Sun

At one point, he spent money racing in Lamborghinis with Formula One world champion Mario Andretti, according to the Daily Mail.

But Jim’s ex-wife cottoned on, suing him and taking half and the ex-security guard soon developed a heavy heroin habit costing him $1,000 (A$1400) a week.

“He was spending like crazy,” said former girlfriend Candace Walker.

“He’d get an advance on the next year’s [lottery] payment and borrow against it. But he was using more than he had.”

Jim ended up moving into a friend’s garage and turned to robbing banks.

He was so prolific the FBI nicknamed him the “PR Cruiser Bandit” and the “Seasoned Bandit” because of his car and grey hair.

According to Jim, he made 11 robberies before being caught and swiped nearly $40,000 (A$56,000).

“After I did the first one, it was so easy. It was like, wow,” Jim said.

“It got easier and easier every time. I was completely hooked. I was getting off on it. It was like a game.”

In 2018, Jim pleaded guilty to bank robbery and served 33 months behind bars.

William ‘Bud’ Post III

William “Bud” Post III was never good with money and had served time in prison for writing back cheques.

So in 1988, Bud thought his problems were all over when he won $16.2 million (A$22.7 million) from the Pennsylvania lottery.

William ‘Bud’ Post III was living off welfare payments when he died. Picture: The Sun

But the spendthrift blew two-thirds of his first annual payment of $500,000 (A$700,000) buying a restaurant and a used-car business for his siblings - and quickly landed back into debt.

He even purchased a private plane, even though he didn’t have a pilot’s license, and bought a mansion.

Then Bud’s former girlfriend sued him for a third of his winnings and when he didn’t pay, a judge froze his assets.

And his relationship with this family quickly disintegrated to the point where one of his brothers had hired a hit man to kill him.

Bud was eventually forced to sell up everything he owned and was soon back in prison for shooting at a repo man who tried to take away his car.

By the time he died at 66, he had been living off benefit payments.

This story originally appeared in The Sun and has been reproduced with permission.