Mich.: $1M lotto winner cut from food assistance

UPDATE — A Michigan lawmaker says news of a lump-sum lottery winner using food stamps should inspire his colleagues to finally pass a law to end such abuse.

A 24-year-old Detroit-area woman, Amanda Clayton, was taken off the rolls after admitting to a TV station that she still was in the program, despite a $700,000 lump-sum lottery windfall last fall. She told WDIV this week she believed "it was OK" because she has bills and no job.

Officials say it was Clayton's responsibility to report her new income. Last year an $850,000 lump-sum winner was allowed to keep his food stamp card. Lawmakers vowed to require more communication between the lottery and the welfare agency, but legislation still is pending.

Republican Rep. Dave Agema says an "entitlement attitude" must end.

*THIS IS AN UPDATE TO PREVIOUS AP COVERAGE BELOW AND WILL BE UPDATED.*

LINCOLN PARK, Mich. (AP) — State officials say a Detroit-area woman who won a $1 million lottery prize but continued to get food stamps has been removed from the food assistance program.

The Michigan Department of Human Services said Wednesday the lottery winner no longer was getting benefits. It followed a report this week from WDIV-TV in which 24-year-old Amanda Clayton of Lincoln Park acknowledged continuing to get $200 in monthly food aid after her September win.

Click the video player included with this report to listen to Clayton defending her use of food aid.

Her mother, Euline Clayton, tells The Detroit News her daughter didn't break any laws.

Legislation in Lansing would require lottery and other gambling winnings to factor into eligibility for government food assistance programs. The legislation comes after a Bay County man last spring said he continued using food stamps despite winning a $2 million lottery prize in 2010.