A Powerball win in Kentucky set off an unexpected chain of events for James Farthing, leading to misplaced $12,000, a shoebox, and legal drama.
Winning $167.3 million might sound like the kind of thing that makes money problems disappear. For one Kentucky Powerball winner, however, $12,000 in supposedly missing cash recently created a whole new problem.
Then came the plot twist. The money wasn't stolen. It had apparently been misplaced in a shoebox.
James Farthing made Kentucky Lottery history in April 2025 when a Powerball ticket he purchased at Clark’s Pump N Shop in Georgetown matched all five white balls and the Powerball.
The $167.3 million jackpot was the largest Powerball jackpot ever won in Kentucky.
Farthing claimed the prize alongside his mother, Linda Grizzle. The winners had the option of receiving the full jackpot through 30 annual payments or choosing a one-time cash option of $77.3 million.
Farthing had been a regular Powerball player before the big win. According to the Kentucky Lottery, his mother was the one who first realized they might have the winning ticket. The two returned to the store to have it checked before heading to lottery headquarters to make the historic win official.
Less than a year later, a much smaller amount of money would put Farthing back in the headlines.
In March 2026, Farthing's ex-girlfriend, Jacqueline Fightmaster, contacted police after an argument between the two at Red Mile Gaming and Racing in Lexington.
According to reports, Fightmaster received an alert from her home security system and saw Farthing at the residence, where he had previously been staying. When she returned home, she believed approximately $12,000 in cash was missing.
Police later located Farthing back at Red Mile Gaming and Racing.
The missing cash wasn't found on him or in his vehicle. Police did report finding marijuana during a search, and Farthing was arrested on burglary and marijuana possession charges.
At that point, it appeared the Kentucky Powerball winner had another serious legal case ahead of him. Except there was one rather important detail still to come.
By the time the case reached a preliminary hearing in May, the $12,000 wasn't missing anymore.
Fightmaster testified that she had located the cash she previously believed had been taken. According to court reporting, the money had been misplaced in a shoebox.
She also testified that she didn't believe Farthing had stolen anything from her.
With the supposedly stolen money accounted for, the judge dismissed the burglary charge. The marijuana possession charge connected with the incident was also dismissed.
Farthing's hearing itself had already taken an unusual detour. Originally scheduled for April 27, it was postponed while he recovered from serious injuries suffered in a jet ski accident.
So, within roughly a year of hitting Kentucky's biggest Powerball jackpot, Farthing's story had somehow accumulated a record-setting lottery ticket, a casino argument, thousands of dollars in missing cash, a shoebox, a court hearing and a jet ski accident. That's quite a run.
Farthing has faced separate legal issues since winning the jackpot, but those cases are unrelated to the missing-money incident.
As for this particular chapter, the ending turned out to be considerably simpler than the beginning. The $12,000 hadn’t been stolen after all. It just needed to be found.
Farthing certainly isn’t Kentucky’s only Powerball winner. Just weeks before his record-setting jackpot, a group of 17 co-workers at Barton 1792 Distillery in Bardstown had their own reason to celebrate. Their office Powerball pool matched four white balls and the Powerball in the March 22, 2025 drawing, scoring a $50,000 prize. The group had been playing together weekly, usually collecting smaller wins along the way, before finally landing one worth a trip to Kentucky Lottery headquarters.
Stories like these are a good reminder that every Powerball win looks a little different. Some become record-breaking headlines. Others turn into a great story shared among co-workers for years to come. If you choose to play Powerball, keep it fun, play within your budget, and remember that winning is never guaranteed. And, of course, if you do happen to win, enjoy the moment responsibly.