Washington, D.C
DC man says he’s owed $340 million after incorrect winning Powerball numbers posted
A 60-year-old Washington, D.C., man thought he became an overnight multimillionaire but now he’ll have to argue in court to retrieve the $340 million fortune he says Powerball unlawfully denied him.
John Cheeks’ January 2023 Powerball ticket indicated he’d won $340 million, but when he attempted to redeem the prize, he got denied and told to throw his jackpot “in the trash can,” according to the complaint filed in November 2023.
Cheeks’ suit alleges he was deprived of his winnings due to “unlawful collusion” by Powerball, the Multi-State Lottery Association and Taoti Enterprises — a D.C.-based digital advertising agency that operates the D.C. Lottery website. The named defendants did not honor the posted winning Powerball numbers that matched Cheeks’ lottery ticket, according to the suit.
USA TODAY contacted Powerball, the Multi-State Lottery Association and Taoti Enterprises but did not receive a response.
“This is not merely about numbers on a website; it’s about the reliability of institutions that promise life-changing opportunities, while heavily profiting in the process,” Rick Evans, Cheeks’ attorney, told USA TODAY. “… We intend to collect every penny to which (Cheeks) is entitled to right this wrong.”
How did Cheeks find out he’d won?
Cheeks bought the “winning ticket” Jan. 6, 2023, from a licensed retailer, according to the suit. He told USA TODAY that he chose the ticket’s numbers by using family birthdates. The numbers Cheeks chose were “07-15-23-32-40” with a Powerball number of 2, the suit says.
“All the numbers that I have played are totally common significant related numbers to me and my life,” he said.
The live drawing of the numbers occurred Jan. 7, 2023, but Cheeks said he didn’t rush to check his ticket due to him being “exhausted as hell” from a meeting with his accountant that day. Unbeknownst to Cheeks, the winning numbers on the website that day matched the ticket he’d bought.
When Cheeks checked the D.C. Lottery website the following morning, he saw he’d won the jackpot due to his numbers matching the winning numbers, the suit says.
The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are about 1 in 292.2 million.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes so I turned my laptop off, unplugged it, took it down and started it up again,” Cheeks said. “There were the numbers again, matching my ticket.”
Although Cheeks had possibly won millions, he recalled not being excited, but “exhausted” and “numb.”
With a clear head, Cheeks said he called a friend who told him to take a picture of the winning ticket because “you never know what could go wrong.” Cheeks held off from redeeming the ticket that day so he could wait and meet with advisors beforehand, he said.
Taoti claims posting of Cheeks’ numbers was ‘a mistake’
For the next three days, the D.C. Lottery website showed the winning numbers. By Jan. 10, 2023, the numbers on the website had changed and differed from the ones shown since Jan. 7, according to the suit.
During an administrative hearing May 2, 2023, Taoti claimed that it “accidentally” posted Cheeks’ winning numbers to the D.C. Lottery website Jan. 7, the suit says. The company then said the “mistake” wasn’t removed from the website until Jan. 9.
That the numbers were erroneously posted on the D.C. Lottery site explains why Cheeks’ personal numbers didn’t match the numbers Cheeks saw when he went to a licensed retailer and checked his ticket against what was posted at the Office of Lottery and Gaming claiming center in D.C., the lawsuit says.
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While at the claim center, one of the officials told Cheeks to throw the ticket away “in the trash can” and that “we’re not going to pay you for it,” he said.
“I gave the guy a look and said ‘I think I’ll just keep this,’” Cheeks said. “He looked at me and I walked out. That was a very humiliating day.”
Brittany Bailey, the project manager at Taoti, said in court documents that Cheeks’ “attempted scheme” is a way to capitalize on an “obvious error” on the D.C. Lottery website. Rather than posting random numbers on a “test website” by Taoti, as intended, they were mistakenly posted Jan. 6 on the D.C. Lottery Website, she said.
“First, any ordinary person knows that winning lottery numbers are not posted or advertised in advance; they cannot be because they have not been drawn yet,” Bailey said in the court filings. “Second, the list of numbers posted did not include a Powerball number, but simply a blank red ball. These red flags would cause any reasonable person to know that they were not the valid winning numbers for the following day.”
The test numbers posted on Jan. 6 remained on the D.C. Lottery website even after the correct numbers were posted, Bailey said. When Taoti employees saw the test numbers, they realized the error and took them down, she said.
What did Cheeks do with the Powerball ticket?
Cheeks’ Powerball ticket is currently in a safe deposit box, he said.
If Cheeks is granted the money, he said he’ll open up a bank like Homestead and HomeTrust that would help people who normally wouldn’t qualify for a home mortgage.
“We’re going to build (and) rehab homes from D.C., to Maryland, Virginia and any other place that we’re needed to help solve the homeownership crisis,” Cheeks said.
The Powerball jackpot grew to $754.6 million before a ticketholder in Washington state claimed the prize on Feb. 6, 2023.
Evans said the D.C. Lottery and Powerball are aggressively marketing to consumers in D.C. and others on a national and international stage. The companies’ failure to make a public service announcement once they realized the game was compromised only led to them selling more tickets and “generating an enormous amount of revenue,” he said.
“As the pot grows, more people play and DC and Powerball make tremendous amounts of money on those ticket sales,” Evans said. “… This lawsuit raises critical questions about the integrity and accountability of lottery operations and the safeguards—or lack thereof—against the type of errors that Powerball and the DC Lottery contend occurred in this case.”
Due to the D.C. Lottery and Powerball’s “alleged error,” Evans said Cheeks should be paid out the winnings because precedent exists of them paying declared winners when a similar situation occurred in Iowa.
Iowa lottery officials blamed an unspecified “human reporting error” in November 2013 after posting the wrong Powerball numbers, which remained on its website for more than six hours. Anyone who cashed in their winning tickets was still able to claim their prizes, which ranged from $4 to $200, the Associated Press reported.
Washington, D.C
Weekend weather in the DC Area: A little bit of everything
WASHINGTON (7News) — If you’ve got plans around D.C., Maryland, or Northern Virginia this weekend, you’ll want to stay flexible.
The forecast brings a mix of warm temperatures, sunshine, and a few rounds of showers and storms—especially Saturday and late Sunday.
Here’s a simple, hour-by-hour style breakdown so you can plan ahead.
Saturday: Warm Front, Clouds, and Spotty Storms
Morning (6 AM – 12 PM)
Mostly cloudy to start
A few early showers possible, especially toward the MD/PA border
Temperatures climbing through the 60s into the low 70s
What’s happening: A warm front is lifting north, bringing in milder air.
Afternoon (12 PM – 5 PM)
Highs reach the mid-70s
Clouds may break at times
Scattered showers and thunderstorms develop
Storm window: 2 PM – 7 PM
About a 50% chance of rain
Severe risk is low, but not zero
Possible:
Brief heavy downpours
Gusty winds
Maybe even small hail in isolated spots
Good news: Not everyone sees rain—but keep an eye on the sky.
Evening & Night (After 7 PM)
Storm chances linger early, then fade
Skies turn partly cloudy overnight
Lows drop to the mid-50s
Winds become light
Most of the night should be quiet and comfortable.
Sunday: The Pick of the Weekend
Morning
Dry and pleasant
A mix of sun and clouds early
Afternoon
Sunny and warmer
Highs in the low 80s
Light southwest breeze
This is your best outdoor day—great for parks, brunch, or yard work.
Sunday Night (After Midnight)
Clouds increase
Showers likely after midnight (70% chance)
Lows in the mid-50s
Winds shift from the north
Rain becomes more steady and widespread overnight
Looking Ahead (Late Sunday into Monday)
A cold front approaches from the northwest
Best chance for rain: Sunday night → Monday morning
Rainfall totals:
Generally 0.10″ to 0.25″
Locally higher in spots
Storms are possible, but:
Limited instability
Severe weather risk remains low
Weekend Planning Tips
Saturday:
Keep plans flexible—have a backup indoor option in the afternoon
Sunday:
Get outside early—it’s the best weather window
Sunday night:
Expect rain if you’re out late or traveling
The Big Picture
This weekend is part of a warming trend, with temperatures climbing from the 70s into the 80s. But with that warmth comes multiple chances for showers and storms, especially as weather fronts move through the region.
This weekend compared too next
Washington, D.C
Mom finds out daughter with autism was sexually abused at DC school week after it happened
CONTENT WARNING: This story contains content that may be uncomfortable to some readers. Discretion is advised.
WASHINGTON (7News) — A mother said she learned her 13-year-old daughter was sexually abused in a D.C. school when a detective contacted her a week after it happened. She said the school never notified her.
7News sat down with the mother on Friday, while her daughter was being evaluated and interviewed by detectives. We’re not sharing the mom’s identity to protect her daughter.
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The mom said she got a call Sunday night, “regarding my daughter and a sexual assault that happened at school involving my daughter last Monday.”
However, it didn’t come from the place or people she said she counted on.
“I never got a phone call from the school, an email, a text, nothing to say,” said the mom. Nothing happened until a week later.
That’s when a detective called and told her what happened.
“She was forced to give oral sex to a student in school,” said the mom.
Her 13-year-old daughter is disabled, autistic, and has challenges communicating.
The mom said she was sending her daughter to school without knowing what happened.
“I noticed a little behavior, emotional changes,” said the mom. “When I got that call now, it makes sense to, you know, what you because of what she had experienced at school and to come home and she didn’t say anything or no one had called me and just like it breaks my heart.”
7News obtained a copy of the police report, which confirms the youth investigative branch is investigating what happened to her daughter as sexual abuse. It shows that a Kelly Miller Middle School social worker reported it to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) last week.
“I just hope that I can be able to get her back on the right track. From all the trauma, on top of trauma,” said the mom. “To be able to grow and not have to hold that in the back of her head that she experienced in school, which should have been her safe place.”
7News started reaching out to DCPS just after 12:30 p.m. to ask if the students suspected of the abuse have been removed from the school, and why parents wouldn’t have been notified about the incident. They did not get back to us until after our first report aired. They did not answer either question. They provided the following statement.
A district spokesperson provided this statement:
At DC Public Schools (DCPS), student safety and wellbeing are paramount, and the district treats any allegation of sexual misconduct with the utmost seriousness. DCPS will continue to cooperate with law enforcement as this matter is investigated.
In accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and our obligation to maintain student confidentiality, we are unable to provide comment on individual student cases.
If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual assault or abuse, the National Sexual Assault Hotline can be accessed by calling 1-800-656-4673.
Washington, D.C
Canvas cyberattack leaves many DC-area school systems without service
WASHINGTON – A cyberattack on the Canvas learning management system left thousands of schools and universities offline Thursday, disrupting access to grades, assignments, course materials and lecture videos as students prepared for finals.
The hacking group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the breach, according to the Associated Press. Instructure, the company behind Canvas, did not immediately respond to questions about whether the system was taken down as a precaution or knocked offline, the AP reported.
READ MORE: Canvas outage impacts thousands of schools, universities: Hacker group reportedly takes credit
The hacking group posted online that nearly 9,000 schools worldwide were affected, with billions of private messages and other records accessed. Many school systems and universities in the Washington, D.C. region rely on Canvas as their primary learning management system.
In Montgomery County, school officials said access to the platform will remain unavailable “out of an abundance of caution” while they work to understand the impact of the incident and any potential vulnerabilities. Families were urged not to log in until MCPS and the myMCPS Classroom vendor resolve the issue.
The University of Maryland said it does not yet know when Canvas will return to service.
Canvas Cyberattack DC-Area School Systems Affected
Montgomery County Public Schools
Canvas (myMCPS Classroom) owned by Instructure Inc., is used by the school district as its learning management system. Due to a reported global cybersecurity concern involving Canvas, and impacting numerous school systems, universities, corporations in Maryland, other states, and worldwide, thus access to myMCPS Classroom has been disabled.
Out of an abundance of caution, access to the system will remain unavailable while we work to better understand the full impact of the incident and any potential vulnerabilities involving information connected to the platform. Please do not attempt to log in to the platform until MCPS and the myMCPS Classroom (Canvas) vendor have resolved this problem.
At this time, appropriate MCPS technology and security staff are continuing to assess the situation and coordinate with the vendor. We understand this disruption is frustrating and appreciate your patience as this work continues.
myMCPS Classroom provides access to student information such as grades, assignments, attendance, and course materials, and is an important tool for students and families to monitor academic progress. Additional information on how students can access resources and functions in myMCPS Classroom will be provided as soon as possible.
Updates will be shared as soon as additional information becomes available.
University of Maryland
Canvas may appear to be up right now, but please to not use it. DIT Security is not confident the system is safe to use right now. Please check back here before using Canvas.
For our faculty who use Canvas, we have created this guidance, and we will continue adding resources tomorrow. Please stay in touch with your students as we adapt to this evolving situation.
Prince George’s County Schools
There has been a cybersecurity incident involving Canvas, our Learning Management System.
Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, notified us of a global cybersecurity incident affecting 275 million users across numerous educational institutions. We have been informed that PGCPS was one of the many impacted organizations. While personal information including names, emails and Student IDs was impacted, NO sensitive information, such as dates of birth, passwords, financial information, was involved. PGCPS does not store that type of sensitive information or parent information in Canvas.
We are using this as an opportunity to reinforce the importance of exercising caution when communicating by email and remaining vigilant regarding suspicious messages, spam, phishing attempts, or other potentially fraudulent communications.
We will continue to monitor the situation and remain in close communication with Instructure.
Anne Arundel County Public Schools
Due to the ongoing issues with the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), AACPS will operate schools on Friday, May 8, 2026, without the use of the LMS. The Virtual Academy will also remain open with altered instructional delivery that will also not use the LMS. Further instructions will be communicated from the school principal. The latest information regarding the breach and the status of school district operations can be found at www.aacps.org/canvasbreach.
Prince William County Public Schools
We are aware of the error appearing when accessing Canvas and are actively working with the vendor to resolve it. The issue is not just impacting PWCS, and is widespread and national in scope. We will provide updates when the vendor has resolved the issue.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Associated Press and previous FOX 5 reporting.
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