Jane ‘Dough’ accepts $560M lottery jackpot
N.H. woman donates big, continues fight to stay anonymous
Call her ... Jane Dough.
The mystery woman who won the nearly $560 million Powerball jackpot in New Hampshire two months ago accepted the massive prize through her attorneys yesterday. Her lawyers also announced several big donations to charity — including $150,000 to Girls Inc. and $33,000 each to three New Hampshire chapters of End 68 Hours of Hunger.
“The New Hampshire Lottery is excited to award yet another Powerball jackpot to some very fortunate Granite State residents,” New Hampshire Lottery director Charlie McIntyre said in a statement. “While we don’t know the winner’s identity, we do know that her heart is in the right place. These substantial donations are an indication of her generosity and they will make a significant difference in the lives of many throughout our community.”
The woman, who is fighting to remain anonymous through an ongoing lawsuit, is collecting a lumpsum cash prize of $352 million — which will get whittled down to $264 million after Uncle Sam takes his share.
“We recognize the tremendous interest this prize has generated but hope you appreciate our client’s desire to maintain a sense of normalcy by keeping her name confidential,” William Shaheen, one of the woman’s attorneys, said in a statement. “What little I can say, is that she and her family have had a longstanding commitment to their community and are thrilled to be able to enhance their impact through targeted philanthropy for generations to come.”
The winning ticket was sold at Reed’s Ferry Market in Merrimack, N.H., for the Jan. 6 drawing. Jane Doe was the 11th Powerball jackpot winner in New Hampshire history — and her massive payout is the biggest in state history.
“This is truly a life-altering prize, and it is incredibly gratifying to learn of the winner’s plans to make such an amazing impact on our nonprofit community here in New Hampshire,” said Debra Douglas, chairwoman of the New Hampshire Lottery Commission. “We are tremendously happy for our winner and we wish her and her family all the best.”
Jane Doe’s lawsuit, which was filed against the New Hampshire Lottery Commission in January, seeks to hide all “records identifying her as the owner of a winning Powerball ticket.” Her main argument is that lottery winners are frequently met with “violence, threats, scams, harassment and endless solicitations,” according to the suit.
“There are countless stories of other lottery winners who have suffered significantly after receiving their money, many of which could have been avoided if the winners’ identities had not been published,” the lawsuit states.
New Hampshire Judge Charles Temple ruled last month that the woman may transfer the prize money into a trust she has set up, the Good Karma Family Trust of 2018, while he decides whether to allow her to remain anonymous.