Man burys lottery winnings to keep it from creditors

[Champ]

A Bergen man who won at least over NOK 1 million (USD 152,000) in a lottery has found a way to keep his creditors from touching any of his unexpected windfall - the old-fashioned burial method. Despite complaints to courts and police, the man refuses to say where the money is hidden.

Last December the man won NOK 2.5 million in the popular TV-lottery game Joker, and besides being on prime time TV he was also interviewed by local newspaper Bergens Tidende.

"I want to travel, I want to experience things. First and foremost it is going to be a fine Christmas. Then - maybe buy a place to live. I own nothing now," the winner told the paper then.

What he didn't think about was that his creditors - who newspaper Bergensavisen reported are owed NOK 198,000 - might also be watching. Five of them filed for their money from their winnings and the debt commissioner backed them up.

But the man refused to pay, claiming he had split the money with someone and buried his share in a garden.

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article894826.ece