Lottery jackpot turns into bank robbery

James Hayes quit his night job as a security guard shortly after winning the lottery, but became homeless and addicted to drugs when he was arrested by the FBI for bank robbery late last year.

Last March 15,Hayes, 55, stood on the dock in a Los Angeles courtroom and was convicted of a series of bank robberies and faces up to 80 years in prison.

Hayes got lucky in 1998 when he won the $19 million jackpot. The odds of winning that prize were one in 18 million, so Hayer felt like he had finally found some good fortune after years of bad luck.

Things began to change. Hayes quit his job. He no longer had to live paycheck to paycheck. He bought a nice car and could spend more time with his wife and kids. They were going to Hawaii for a wonderful vacation.

“I'm not going to throw money out the window,” Hayers toldLos Angeles Timeswhen I first won the prize. "I know I will change but only for the better. The main thing I want to do is help my family and friends when they are in trouble."

For Hayes, the money came at just the right time. "I didn't have any savings. I just had this old restored car," he admitted toTimes.

Hayes saw the win as a sign that good things were about to happen. He and his wife bought a nice house inCamarillo and he continued to play the lottery because luck had struck once, and who knows, it might strike again. He also bought a new car.

But the happy life did not last long. Soon after, Hayes divorced and his ex-wife got half of the money.Hayes walked away with $6 million. That didn’t last long with his reckless spending and $1,000-a-week drug habit. He soon blew through his lottery winnings.

To continue to have money to maintain that lifestyle, the security guard was willing to become a robber. Investigators determined that Hayes participated in10 bank robberies from April to September last year in various locations, with a total of $40,000 stolen.In each case, Hayes used a piece of paper to threaten and rob money.

On May 24, 2017, Hayes walked into the bank.Union on Carpinteria Avenue and approached the bank teller with a note that read, "Hand over $5,000, no signaling, no exploding counterfeit bills, no GPS, no sensors, no eye contact."With the money he got from that case, he bought a yacht.

On June 12, Hayes went to another bank and handed a female employee a threatening note: "Hand over $10,000 in high denomination bills immediately. Hurry up, I'm watching your every move. I have a gun."

Continuing this trick, Hayes robbed two to three banks each month until investigators caught him in a garage in October 2017.

Thinking back to the moment he won the lottery, Hayes recalled his life: "I was happy before that. That ended everything."