Powerball · United States · 7 August 2013
Sixteen co-workers at the Ocean County Department of Vehicle Services in Toms River pooled their money. Colleague Lisa Presutto bought the ticket at an Acme supermarket on Route 9 in Little Egg Harbor while running errands for prescriptions and dinner items.
Advertised prize
$149,400,000
Cash value $86,054,355
Ticket
Syndicate or office pool
Outcome
Stayed private
Took the money, kept their life, said little since.
Sixteen employees of the Ocean County Department of Vehicle Services in Toms River, New Jersey - nine women and seven men - held one of three tickets matching the August 7, 2013 Powerball drawing for an advertised $448.4 million. Their one-third share was about $149.4 million; taking cash, the group collected $86,054,355, roughly $3.8 million each after withholding. Co-worker Lisa Presutto had bought the ticket at an Acme supermarket on Route 9 in Little Egg Harbor while out for prescriptions and dinner items. The county garage sits near where Superstorm Sandy came ashore in October 2012, and at least six of the winners had homes damaged or destroyed in that storm. Darlene Riccio said she had lost her home and would buy one for herself and her daughter; Susan Nickel of Eagleswood Township, who had taken seven feet of water, said the money would let her family finish repairs. Reporters noted the group turned up for work at the garage the day after the draw, and most said they planned to keep their county jobs. The other two winning tickets went to Paul White, a project engineer from suburban Minneapolis, and to a holder in South Brunswick, New Jersey who had not come forward when the group claimed.
At the 2013 claim most of the 16 said they intended to stay in their Ocean County jobs, and several reported to the garage the day after the draw; county official Jim Pine pointed to that as proof of who they were. As of 2026 no group-wide public update beyond the 2013 claim has been documented.
One detail worth keeping
One winner, Barbara Riivald, is the daughter of the late New Jersey state senator John F. Brown, credited with helping establish the New Jersey Lottery.
Cheng 'Charlie' Saephan
Ended in tragedyPowerball · United States · 2024
$1,326,000,000
Laiza Chao joked to the Saephans before the draw that they were already "billionaires"; her $100 stake in a 20-ticket batch made it true.
Theodorus Struyck
Stayed privatePowerball · United States · 2023
$1,765,000,000
He bought the second-largest winning ticket in Powerball history about 500 yards from his own front door, at a cabin he had paid $90,000 for in 2010.
Edwin Castro
Went wellPowerball · United States · 2022
$2,040,000,000
The draw ran a day late: Minnesota's sales-verification system held up all 48 lotteries, so the $2.04bn numbers were drawn at 8:57 a.m. ET on 8 November 2022.
Manuel Franco
Stayed privatePowerball · United States · 2019
$768,400,000
He told reporters he had under $1,000 in his bank account when he spent $10 on the quick picks that won $768.4 million.
Cheng 'Charlie' Saephan
Ended in tragedyPowerball · United States · 2024
$1,326,000,000
Laiza Chao joked to the Saephans before the draw that they were already "billionaires"; her $100 stake in a 20-ticket batch made it true.
Two anonymous winners: a Singleton (NSW) couple and a Hawthorne (Brisbane) woman
Stayed privatePowerball (Australia) · Australia · 2024
A$200,000,000
The Brisbane winner found out at 6am, scanning her ticket on The Lott app while getting ready for the gym: every number lit up and A$100 million appeared on her phone.
Theodorus Struyck
Stayed privatePowerball · United States · 2023
$1,765,000,000
He bought the second-largest winning ticket in Powerball history about 500 yards from his own front door, at a cabin he had paid $90,000 for in 2010.
Saltines Holdings, LLC (Miami, Florida)
Stayed privateMega Millions · United States · 2023
$1,602,000,000
The biggest Mega Millions winner in history is a company: Saltines Holdings, LLC of Miami. The Publix that sold the $2 Quick Pick collected a $100,000 retailer bonus.
Every figure and quotation above comes from these.
Last verified: 2026-09-13