Ah, the age-old question: if you won the lottery, what’s the first thing you would do?
Maybe a new car, or a splashy meal out? For one man the answer was simple: crime.
Ronnie Music Jr. was 45 years old when he found himself the winner of the top prize in Georgia’s instant ‘100X the Money’ game, after purchasing the ticket from a delicatessen in his hometown, Waycross, in February 2015.
Music’s win was a life-changing $3 million, and he told the Georgia Lottery at the time he ‘couldn’t believe it’ when he realized he’d won.
He told the lottery he planned to save a portion of his winnings for the future, but an investigation later revealed that he’d invested it.
Not into property or stocks, but into a methamphetamine business.
Ronnie Music Jr. chose a controversial way to spend his winnings. (Georgia State Lottery Pressroom)
Music’s involvement came to light after his partners in the drug ring were caught trying to sell about 11 pounds of crystal meth, which had a street value of about $500,000 at the time.
An investigation into the sale identified the supplier as Music, who had used his winnings to buy the drugs with the intention of selling them on, according to a statement from the United States attorney’s office.
Music’s drug deal was revealed to be part of a wider operation which involved more than $1 million worth of methamphetamine, firearms, ammunition, vehicles and over $600,000 in cash.
Less than a month after the thwarted sale of the 11 pounds of meth, law enforcement arrested Music in Tennessee after he sold the drug to a confidential informant.
Music was caught trying to sell the drug. (Getty Stock Photo)
Music’s girlfriend and their infant daughter were passengers in the car Music used to conduct the deal, according to a statement from the district attorney’s office.
After being caught, Music pleaded guilty in district court to federal drug trafficking and firearm charges.
Speaking at the time, United States attorney Edward J. Tarver said Music ‘decided to test his luck by sinking millions of dollars of lottery winnings into the purchase and sale of crystal meth’.
“As a result of his unsound investment strategy, Music now faces decades in a federal prison,” Tarver said.
Music, who was already a convicted felon, was ultimately sentenced in 2017 to 21 years in federal prison.
Acting U.S. Attorney Jim Durham said of his sentencing: “This case has received a great deal of light-hearted coverage because of Mr. Music’s unsound investment decision to buy crystal meth with his lottery winnings.
“The truth of the matter is this: Mr. Music is a predator who has destroyed lives by pushing poison and fear. As law enforcement and prosecutors, our job is to protect our communities by sending predators like Music to federal prison for a very long time.”