Crawford Shaw, NY Lawyer, Withdraws $14.3M Iowa Lottery Claim

A lawyer who tried to redeem a multi-million dollar state lottery ticket last night gave up his claim for the jackpot after officials called it into question.

Crawford Shaw, a Yale graduate and attorney licensed to practice in New York, withdrew his claim to the winning ticket – worth $7.5 million in cash or $10.3 million over 25 years – after lottery officials requested basic information about how obtained the item.

According to the Des Moines Register, Shaw originally submitted the ticket for redemption on behalf of Hexham Investments Trust on Dec. 29, less than two hours before it expired and identified the recipient only as a corporation in the country of Belize.

When probed for more information, Shaw, 76, sent a fax officially withdrawing his claim.

“In order that the claim be resolved without further controversy, Crawford Shaw, as Trustee for and on behalf of the Trust, does hereby withdraw the Claim and does hereby agree to take no further action to enforce the Claim,” the fax signed by Shaw read.

The withdraw ended nearly a month of wrangling between lottery officials and Shaw that included a proposal from Hexham to donate the after-tax proceeds from the jackpot — more than $7 million — to Iowa charities.

“This has been and continues to be the strangest situation that we can recall in the 26-year history of our lottery,” Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich said.

The New York Post points out that the recent lottery incident isn’t the first time Shaw’s character has been questioned. In addition to being involved in lawsuits alleging fraud in Delaware and Texas in the past, records also show Shaw had a least a minor part in the collapse of a chemical company that was looted and bankrupted by a stock manipulation scheme.

Here is a clip by ABC News on Crawford Shaw and his mysterious claim on the Iowa lottery jackpot.

via MSN