A R2.7 billion PowerBall win – and then the arrests started
· The South African
Another Powerball jackpot winner arrest has made headlines – and this time the story is far more serious than his last string of charges.
James Farthing won a record $167.3 million (around R2.7 billion) in the Kentucky Powerball jackpot on 28 April 2025.
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He shared the prize with his mother, Linda Grizzle.
Florida police arrested him within about 24 hours of collecting his winnings, after a bar fight in which he allegedly kicked an officer in the face.
He later pleaded guilty to battery and resisting arrest.
Since then, Farthing has cycled in and out of trouble.
Prosecutors later dropped burglary and marijuana possession charges tied to an incident at his ex-girlfriend’s home, deeming it a misunderstanding.
In July 2026, a grand jury indicted him on a felony wanton endangerment charge and a misdemeanor charge relating to an alleged high-speed hit-and-run from 23 November 2025, in which he is accused of driving between 166 and 188km/h before rear-ending another vehicle and fleeing on foot.
His arraignment on that charge was set for 7 August 2026.
We first wrote about Farthing’s pattern of legal trouble in a $167 million jackpot, and a year of headlines he never wanted, where we looked at why South Africa’s anonymous Lotto winners are unlikely to face this kind of public fallout.
A new and more serious allegation
On 26 July 2026, Farthing was arrested again, this time in Scott County, Kentucky, on domestic violence-related charges.
He has been charged with first-degree strangulation and fourth-degree assault, after allegedly wrapping his hands around a woman’s neck and lifting her against a wall inside his home.
These are allegations at this stage, and Farthing has not been convicted of either charge.
Why this Powerball jackpot winner arrest keeps making headlines
Farthing’s win was public from the outset, and every arrest since has played out in front of the media.
It is a pattern South Africa’s lottery winners rarely face, since Sizekhaya, like ITHUBA before them, allows winners to remain anonymous if they so choose.
I find it hard to imagine carrying a story like this in public for over a year. It says something about why so many of South Africa’s biggest winners choose to stay unnamed.
Would you stay anonymous if you won big in the lottery, or would you want your name revealed?
Let us know in the comments below …