What would you do if you won the lottery? Would you blow it on luxurious things, or would you save and invest?
One lottery winner showed his entrepreneurial spirit by investing his winnings. Unfortunately, it was the spirit ofWalter White from Breaking Bad. Seeing as theenterprise was a crystal meth ring in Ware County, Georgia, the lotto winnerwon’t be seeing great returns on his investment.
The plea
Ronnie Music Jr. of Waycross, Georgia, pled guilty to federal drug trafficking and firearm charges during a hearing last week. The 45-year-old convicted felon has a rap sheet going back to the early 2000s, which includes prior methamphetamine-related charges, so he faces a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.Music scratched off a Georgia lottery ticket to win $3 million in February 2015.
But 2015 would not be the year of Ronnie Music Jr.’s fresh start on life, as detailed in a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia Tuesday.
The investigation
In September, Music’s cohorts were nabbed trying to sell about 11 pounds of crystal meth, which can earn more than $500,000 on the street. Music was identified as a supplier of the methamphetamine. The investigation, conducted by the ATF, DEA, and the Glynn-Brunswick Narcotics Enforcement Team, revealed that Music had bought the drugs with his lottery money.According to the statement, agents seized more than $1 million worth of methamphetamine, more than $600,000 in cash, a large collection of firearms and ammunition, and multiple vehicles during the investigation.
Bad investment
“DefendantMusicdecided to test his luck by sinking millions of dollars of lottery winnings into the purchase and sale of crystal meth,” federal prosecutor Ed Tarver said.“As a result of his unsound investment strategy,Musicnow faces decades in a federal prison.”Music and his co-conspirators will face sentencing by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood after the U.S. Probation Office finishes its presentence investigation.
