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‘Ghosted' ex sues former girlfriend, says she took his $5-M lotto winnings

‘Ghosted' ex sues former girlfriend, says she took his $5-M lotto winnings

A Winnipeg man is suing his former romantic partner, alleging he unwittingly agreed to name her as the winner of a $5 million lottery ticket before she 'ghosted him' and ran off with the money.
Lawrence Campbell filed the lawsuit in Manitoba Court of King's Bench on May 14, naming Krystal Ann McKay, the Western Canada Lottery Corp. and Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries as defendants.
The statement of claim alleges Campbell purchased the winning ticket from an Isabel Street convenience store in January 2024, but allowed McKay to claim it as her own after meeting with a lottery agent 'who lead (sic) the plaintiff to believe' he could not receive the winnings without presenting a valid, government-issued ID.
Campbell, who also did not have an active bank account, agreed to allow McKay to sign the ticket and hold the winnings for him in trust, the lawsuit said. The pair had been dating for about 1 1/2 years, and shared a home and family, it said.
SUPPLIED
Krystal McKay claiming the $5 million Lotto 6/49 prize, January 20, 2024.
SUPPLIED
Krystal McKay claiming the $5 million Lotto 6/49 prize, January 20, 2024.
'The plaintiff had every reason to trust the spousal defendant as they were, at that time, in a loyal, committed and promising romantic partnership,' the lawsuit said.
Less than two weeks after the money was transferred into McKay's account, Campbell alleges she did not return to a hotel room where they planned to stay the night together.
'He set out to visit a few of her known spots where she would party and sure enough after some investigation, he found her; in bed, with another guy,' the lawsuit said. 'In subsequent conversations with him, the spousal defendant mentioned to the plaintiff that she wished to terminate the relationship to be with this new guy.'
McKay then cut all ties with Campbell, according to the claim.
'She ghosted him, refused to take his calls or answer his messages, she blocked him on her social media accounts; and even took out a protection order,' it said.
None of the claims have been tested in court, and the defendants have not issued statements of defence.
The lawsuit claims Campbell is entitled to the $5 million because he purchased the ticket. It asks the courts to issue a constructive trust over the winnings and award assorted damages in favour of Campbell.
A constructive trust is a legal tool that can transfer ownership of money or property to one party, without the consent of the other.
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'Nowhere in the law is it permitted for someone who alone purchased a winning lottery ticket to effectively be defrauded by a former romantic partner and then held, by operation of the law, a lottery loser; This case will not be the exception,' Campbell's lawyer, Chad Panting, said in a statement to the Free Press.
'Mr. Campbell alone won the January 20th 2024, lotto-649 Classic jackpot and intends on proving it in court, if necessary.'
The lawsuit claims the Western Canada Lottery Corp. provided improper advice to Campbell, and accuses Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries of having deficient or non-existent oversight when disbursing the funds — making both organizations vicariously liable, it said.
The lottery corporations jointly issued a news release on Jan. 30, 2024, announcing McKay as the winner of $5-million lottery prize and the first Manitoban to become a lotto millionaire that year.
It said McKay's partner gave her the winning lottery ticket as a birthday gift.
Campbell's lawsuit does not mention a birthday gift, instead saying he purchased the ticket himself, but asked her to hold onto it because he 'had recently lost his wallet.'
Two days later, Campbell found the ticket on the floor at a friend's house and realized it was a winner after checking the numbers on his cellphone. He and McKay then went to scan the ticket at a Shoppers Drug Mart and filmed a video of them celebrating together, the lawsuit said.
In the lottery release, McKay is quoted as saying she 'screamed' when she checked the winning numbers, and she immediately called her sister who began to scream, as well.
'I was so excited and crying — I just couldn't believe it,' McKay said in the release.
The release said McKay planned to spend the money on her children and buy a home for her family.
The Free Press was unable to reach McKay for comment Tuesday.
Neither lottery corporation responded to requests for comment.
tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca
Tyler SearleReporter
Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press's city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic's creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.
Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.

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Winnipeg Free Press

time06-06-2025

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A Humboldt Broncos hockey jersey hangs in the lobby of Jim Campbell's trucking business, serving as a daily reminder of the omnipresent danger on Canada's highways. The memory still lingers in the seven years since 16 members of the junior hockey team died and another 13 were injured when their playoff-game-bound bus was struck by a semi-trailer in rural Saskatchewan. 'There's carnage all across Canada,' Campbell says as he climbs the stairs to his second-storey office at First Class Training Centre. To offer further proof, he opens Facebook, pulls up a national trucking community page and scrolls through videos of crash scenes and semis in ditches. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS A Humboldt Broncos jersey at Campbell's truck driver training school serves as a constant reminder of the dangers on Canadian highways. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS A Humboldt Broncos jersey at Campbell's truck driver training school serves as a constant reminder of the dangers on Canadian highways. 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MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS MPI currently has five employees regulating driver-training schools, instructors and training vehicles of all licence classes (Class 1 through 6), a significant improvement from when there were only two employees auditing training schools between 2020-23. Campbell and others consider MPI's audit process robust. Records, vehicles, facilities and programs are inspected on-site. Class 1 schools are audited annually while complaints are investigated separately. However, Campbell notes audits might elicit different results if investigators showed up unannounced rather than in scheduled visits, as is the current practice. 'We need to get a good handle on the schools that are out there and make sure they are complying,' Campbell says. About 95 per cent of offences flagged during an audit are considered minor or moderate, such as administrative deficiencies that pose limited or no public-safety risk. They typically result in warnings or, as a last resort, suspensions. The new fines help toughen up oversight, Seel says, because warnings can be ignored and suspensions can negatively impact students. 'I'm trying to offer a bigger program for $9,000 … Who's going to come to a $9,000 program if you can get it faster and cheaper somewhere else?'–Jim Campbell The disparity in training-hour requirements results in a similar disparity in tuition costs, which, according to Seel, can range from $3,500 to $9,000. Some operators caution you get what you pay for. First Class is at the higher end because of the additional training provided, but Campbell admits it leaves him at a disadvantage, business-wise. 'I'm trying to offer a bigger program for $9,000,' he says. 'Who's going to come to a $9,000 program if you can get it faster and cheaper somewhere else?' Says Dolyniuk at the Manitoba Trucking Association: 'Companies are using non-compliance as a competitive advantage. MPI is doing what they can, but having a two-tiered system (MELT and the 244-hour), it makes it very hard to regulate.' On any given day, thousands of truckers cross multiple provincial borders in order to keep Canada's economic engine running. That border fluidity means poorly trained drivers, regardless of where they're from, are an always present danger. A 2024 CBC Marketplace investigation caught Ontario driving instructors who falsified documents for cash, saying students took driving classes when they didn't. A followup report found the system for testing truck drivers had been compromised by bribes, forged documents and 'rigged testing.' Alberta has suspended about five of its 60 Class 1 driving schools in recent years for similar infractions. 'The largest reason is just not putting in time,' says Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen. 'Falsified records of things being done when they weren't done, truckers not actually having the proper time or training on certain things.' JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Many experts believe the various Mandatory Entry-Level Training programs don't go far enough in preparing drivers for the industry. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Many experts believe the various Mandatory Entry-Level Training programs don't go far enough in preparing drivers for the industry. Cecilia Omole, the Insurance Bureau of Canada's manager of commercial policy, says her organization has documented a link between driver preparedness, claims and accidents over the last five years. 'A lot of truck training schools are very good, and they do a good job at preparing students,' Omole says. 'However, there's a few bad apples in the bunch.' As a result of its findings, the IBC formed a working group and commissioned a third-party report, which found new, inexperienced drivers were most likely to be involved in accidents and emphasized a need for oversight and enforcement of driver-training standards. The IBC has clocked a change in provinces' mandatory training since forming its working group. Last year, both Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador implemented approximately 112-hour MELT programs, while Ontario is reviewing its process for obtaining a semi-trailer licence. 'I think there's broad agreement that MELT does not go far enough,' Omole says. 'We would love to see a national standard of some sort.' For Campbell, the solution is simple: make trucking a Red Seal trade. The Professional Truck Training Alliance of Canada has met with various provincial governments to discuss the idea. Five provinces must be on board before a trade can gain Red Seal status. Plumbers, carpenters and bakers are among those holding the designation, which is recognized inter-provincially. They must undergo apprenticeship before graduating. To get there, there's a curriculum to create, inter-province meetings to endure and an application requiring approval. It's a 'long haul,' Campbell says. The PTTAC has met with Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Nova Scotia officials. Alberta, which previously only required 113 hours of training, has been at the forefront in pursuing the designation. It switched its driver-training model to a tiered system in April. The final tier, if other provinces join, would be Red Seal status. 'We didn't believe the MELT was actually giving the competencies that were needed,' says Robert Harper, president of the Alberta Motor Transport Association. 'We believe a lot of people had gotten some rather poor training in the industry.' 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He envisions an alternative, one where truck driving is a nationally designated trade — 'it'd do great things for our industry' —but training is tailored to the sector's reality. Such a move would help legitimize on-the-job training and produce safer drivers, he says, although cautioning many companies currently can't afford to spend much time mentoring new hires. If a national standard is created, he adds, it's crucial to 'harmonize up.' 'If one province has a lower standard, guess what happens? That's where those seeking a lower standard go to get their Class 1 licence,' he says. 'The lowest common denominator… typically dictates the state of our industry.' 'If one province has a lower standard, guess what happens? That's where those seeking a lower standard go to get their Class 1 licence.'–Aaron Dolyniuk Still, some Manitoba companies have extensive onboarding processes. Bison Transport has a phased program including 11 weeks of in-cab instruction, local runs for two months and restrictions on assignments for two years. Payne Transportation puts its drivers through internationally recognized Smith System Driver Improvement Institute courses and rewards those acting safely on the road. It uses artificial intelligence-equipped cameras in trucks to monitor driving. The provincial government, MPI and industry stakeholders are part of a joint steering committee the Manitoba Trucking Association co-chairs. The group was struck to study recruitment, training and retention of truck drivers. A 2023 report, commissioned by the MTA for the committee, found the retention rate of long-haul truckers sponsored for training was 'significantly' lower than other trades. The province would not make a minister available for comment, and instead issued a general statement saying it is committed to evaluating driver training and curriculum standards, improving testing and job retention, and is open to considering alternative training models. TIM SMITH / BRANDON SUN FILES A semi-trailer passes by a memorial on the TransCanada Highway near the intersection with Highway 5, where 17 seniors were killed in 2023 in one of Canada's worst mass highway casualty crashes. TIM SMITH / BRANDON SUN FILES Currently, Quebec is viewed as Canada's gold standard of truck-driver training. It offers subsidized programs allowing for 24 months of experience before a full Class 1 designation is received. During that time, the driver has a Class 1 learner's licence. Alan Warrington has trained hundreds of truckers at Alan's Driving School, a Portage la Prairie academy. Retirement is on his horizon. While he says MELT is an adequate program, he believes trucking 'certainly should be' a Red Seal profession, but with more focus on road training and less on classroom theory. Students often come from farms and Hutterite colonies. Some can't read or write well, but they can drive perfectly, Warrington says, adding success comes from teaching to learners' capabilities. Managers at Big Freight Systems and Payne Transportation and drivers interviewed at a Headingley truck stop expressed support for a national program. 'I think the profession would be taken a lot more seriously,' said Scott Warkentine, Big Freight Systems' director of safety and driver services. 'I think people that are in the profession or want to get into it … it would set a higher standard.' Improved safety would follow, he says, though the cost of putting a driver through a Red Seal or similar program could be a challenge for some. Employers would need to be willing to pay more for staff, cautions Thomas McKee, Payne Transportation's vice-president of driver services and innovation. 'Red Seal would be such a blessing,' he says, noting it could protect truckers from low wages. 'It would just elevate the whole industry.' Trucker Sandeep Dhaliwal went through the MELT program several years ago. Improving training may improve driver skill, but it could also detract people from entering the profession, he says, and also might force out established drivers if they have to go back to school. 'There are a lot of untrained and unskilled people driving semi-trucks, which they should not be doing,' he says. 'It's a hard career. It's not an easy job.' The onus shouldn't just be placed on training schools. Sometimes there's a lack of willingness to learn and a 'disregard for others' safety' on the driver's part, he says, noting he has also encountered unsafe truckers on the highways. 'Every day, you run into good ones and bad ones,' Dhaliwal says. 'I don't know. I try to do the job honestly.' Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Gabrielle PichéReporter Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle. Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.

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