Michigan Lottery Winner Charged With Welfare Fraud Found Dead of Apparent Drug Overdose

The Michigan woman who caused a stir (and  a new law to be created) when she continued to collect food stamps and medical benefits after winning $1 million dollars from the Michigan Lottery, was found dead on Saturday. NBC News reports that police suspect a drug overdose in the death of Amanda Clayton, 25, who was found in a home in a Ecorse, Michigan, southwest of Detroit.

Last spring, prosecutors accused Amanda Clayton of collecting $5,475 in welfare from the state that she would not have received had she reported the lottery winnings.  In June, she  was charged with two counts of fraud. Clayton plead no contest and was sentenced to nine months' probation.

"The Amanda I knew was a caring person," Josh Ormanian, Clayton's former boyfriend, told MyFoxDetroit.com. "She did care. She went down the wrong path, she got the money, got the freedom and felt like she could do whatever she wanted."

MyFoxDetroit.com reports that recently Clayton was also involved in an altercation with her neighbors and was due back in court this week. The Wayne County Medical Examiner will be determining the exact cause of death.