Woman Must Forfeit $1 Million Lottery Winnings

WHITE CITY, Ore. -- A local woman must turn over her lottery winnings after a judge said she won them illegally.

Prosecutors said Christina Goodenow, of White City, used a credit card that belonged to her then-boyfriend's dead mother to buy a winning $1 million Scratch-It ticket in Oct. 2005.

Goodenow asked lottery officials to keep her win quiet, claiming to be a victim of domestic violence. But police learned of the crime about two weeks later, as Goodenow continued to use the stolen credit card.On Thursday, Jackson County Judge Ray White ruled that the winnings were the proceeds of illegal activity and must be forfeited under Oregon law.

Goodenow pleaded no contest to forgery, cheating and aggravated theft.

Besides stripping Goodenow of her winnings, White sentenced Goodenow to a month in jail. But White gave her credit for the six months she served earlier this year for possessing methamphetamine.

Goodenow, who maintains she bought the winning ticket with cash from her own pocket and said she plans to appeal, must spend two years on probation.