Lottery hoax causes riot at Ohio coat store

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A woman being driven around in a rented limousine pulled up at a coat store and announced she'd won the lottery and would pay for everyone's purchases, police said, but she ended up causing a riot when customers realized it was a hoax.

Angry customers threw merchandise around and looted, leaving the store looking as though a hurricane had passed through it, police said.

Linda Brown was arrested Tuesday after an hours-long shopping spree that began when she hired a stretch Hummer limousine to drop her off at a Burlington Coat Factory store, police Sgt. Lt. Michael Deakins said. Brown walked to a cash register and loudly announced she had won the lottery and would pay for each person's merchandise up to $500, he said.

"Well, of course, people like to hear that," Deakins said. "Apparently they were in line calling relatives who were not at the store and told them to come."

People flooded the registers as cashiers began ringing up purchase after purchase, but Brown had not yet paid the bill, Deakins said. At least 500 people filled the aisles and another 1,000 were outside trying to get in, he said.

"She was telling people she won $1.5 million," Deakins said. "But it ends up she didn't win anything. She had no money to pay for anything."

About an hour later, Brown had the limousine driver take her to a bank to withdraw money, but she returned empty-handed, police Detective Steven Nace said. By then, store employees had called in two dozen police officers to handle the crowds.

Shopper Candace Jordan said she told Brown she didn't need clothes, she needed help paying her rent.

"And she said, 'How much is it?'" Jordan told WBNS-TV. "And she promptly wrote out a check."

By the time employees realized Brown didn't have any cash to pay, police said, she already had taken off in the limo.

That's when angry customers, realizing they weren't getting free coats, began throwing merchandise on the floor and grabbing clothes without paying for them, Nace said.

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This is Burlington Coat Factory store? No this is madness!
Come on what was this woman thinking?

This is the direct result of too many reality tv shows and not enough intelligence...

reply to post by antar


I know at first they were all like but than they were like sad

It is an unbelieveable story I give you that. I just dont know it would be my luck to fall into something like that, you know this could have gone to the pshycology forum, people really had to take a good look at themselves after a fiasco like that.

reply to post by antar


I know to riot because some metal case was lying. I would have been sad that my stuff was not free. However I would have paid and left.

reply to post by ashnomadonte

No this is madness!

Madness? This is SPARTA!

I really couldn't resist.

That's pretty messed up, and funny as hell. It's wrong, and I don't think anyone should do it. But it's funny.

I know at first they were all like but than they were like

That made me laugh out loud so hard! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO funny

reply to post by concerned190


Lol it made me chuckle a bit when I was typing it. Thank you for appreciating my since of humor.