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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>“I kind of do. I have no income, and I have bills to pay. I have two houses.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Jay<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/07/us/michigan-lottery-winner/index.html">http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/07/us/michigan-lottery-winner/index.html</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:14.25pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><strong><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>(CNN)</span></strong><span class=apple-converted-space><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'> </span></span><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>-- A Michigan woman who won the lottery but continued to receive food assistance from the state government has had her benefits pulled, officials said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:14.25pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;border-image: initial;orphans: 2;widows: 2;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Amanda Clayton hit it big playing the Michigan Lottery. Like many winners, she used her $1 million prize to buy a new house.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:14.25pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;border-image: initial;orphans: 2;widows: 2;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>But the Lincoln Park, Michigan, resident continued to receive money in another form -- $200 a month in state food assistance, according to</span><span class=apple-converted-space><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'> </span></span><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><a href="http://www.clickondetroit.com/" target="_blank"><span style='font-family:"inherit","serif";color:#004276;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>CNN Detroit affiliate WDIV</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:14.25pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;border-image: initial;orphans: 2;widows: 2;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Her story made headlines, and on Thursday, the state's Department of Human Services announced that she is no longer getting the benefits.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:14.25pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;border-image: initial;orphans: 2;widows: 2;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>According to Michigan law, welfare recipients must report any changes in assets or income to the agency within 10 days.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:14.25pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;border-image: initial;orphans: 2;widows: 2;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>The department "relies on clients being forthcoming about their actual financial status. If they are not, and continue to accept benefits, they may face criminal investigation and be required to pay back those benefits," Director Maura Corrigan said in a statement.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:14.25pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;border-image: initial;orphans: 2;widows: 2;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>She said the agency supports new legislation that would verify whether lottery winners receive state benefits.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:14.25pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;border-image: initial;orphans: 2;widows: 2;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>"I thought that they would cut me off, but since they didn't, I thought, maybe, it was OK because I'm not working," Clayton, 24, told WDIV when it asked whether it was appropriate for her to receive the money.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:14.25pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;border-image: initial;orphans: 2;widows: 2;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>A state lawmaker is trying to stop such assistance, which is not illegal. He says the food assistance should not go to those who have found riches through the lottery.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:14.25pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;border-image: initial;orphans: 2;widows: 2;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>"We need to continue to protect our taxpayers' dollars ... and taxpayer dollars should be going to those who really do need assistance," Michigan Rep. Dale Zorn of Ida Township told HLN's Vinnie Politan on Wednesday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:14.25pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;border-image: initial;orphans: 2;widows: 2;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>In October, Clayton walked away with $1 million in the "Make Me Rich!" lottery game show. She also bought a car, WDIV reported.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:14.25pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;border-image: initial;orphans: 2;widows: 2;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>After taking a lump sum and paying taxes, the unemployed woman said she ended up with just more than $500,000.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:14.25pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;border-image: initial;orphans: 2;widows: 2;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Asked if she had the right to the public assistance money, Clayton answered, "I kind of do. I have no income, and I have bills to pay. I have two houses."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:14.25pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;border-image: initial;orphans: 2;widows: 2;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Zorn said the state House has passed bills on the matter. One would require a state agency to conduct an assets test if a citizen wins more than $1,000 in lottery earnings. "That will trigger whether or not the people are eligible to receive public assistance."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:14.25pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;border-image: initial;orphans: 2;widows: 2;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>The legislature has not approved any final measures.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:14.25pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;border-image: initial;orphans: 2;widows: 2;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Clayton told WDIV she had wanted to continue using a food-assistance card until it is cut off. "It's hard. I am struggling."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>