$7 Million Lotto Winners Threatened By 11-Year-Old Cash Payments Demanded In Notes, Telephone Calls

When Bob and June Craig won a $7 million Lotto jackpot three years ago, they worried someone might try to extort money from them.

But they never expected the threat to come from an 11-year-old boy, as it did last month.

“I had some sleepless nights,” Craig said Monday. “I’ve got two young grandchildren here. We didn’t know it was a kid threatening us. We were panicked.”

On Nov. 18, June Craig found a note on the front porch demanding $500,000. The first threats came in a phone call the next evening.

“You better get the money,” the caller said, according to Craig.

A day later, another note appeared on the Craigs’ front porch, this time with instructions where and when to drop off the money, said Douglas County Undersheriff Dave Wallace.

This time, the note demanded $250,000 and threatened that the family would die if the extortionist didn’t receive the money, Wallace said.

“We checked the notes for prints and none came up,” Wallace said. “Then it was just a matter of waiting for someone to show up for the money.”

Seven deputies lay in wait.

When an 11-year-old boy showed up to get the package, deputies shouted for him to stop. The child ran, but the Craigs’ two sons, Don and Dan, tackled him.

The child was released to his mother’s custody, and Prosecutor Steve Clem said he is waiting for a referral from the juvenile department before deciding whether to charge the boy.