Fake lotto winner causes riot at Burlington Coat Factory
Filed under: Extracurriculars, Shopping, Fraud
Imagine you're minding your own business looking for a new coat at Burlington Coat Factory on an idle Tuesday afternoon when a stretch Hummer Limo rolls up and out jumps Linda Brown, 45, who tells the entire store that she won a $1.5 million lottery prize and wanted to spend $500 on everyone in the store.Sounds a little too good to be true doesn't it? After all, stories like this only happen in the movies, but lo and behold, Brown began paying for purchase after purchase using her debit card while the store became crowded with friends and family who had been alerted to the once-in-a-lifetime deal. The Columbus Dispatch reports that by 2 p.m. word had spread to so many shoppers that the lines wove through the entire store!
But, and here's why you're reading this here instead of watching a Hallmark movie, after several thousands of dollars in charges Brown's debit card could take no more and she announced that she would go to the bank for more cash to continue the charity. And so she retreated to her stretch Hummer and left, never to be seen at Burlington Coat Factory again.
You see. Linda Brown didn't win the lottery; she wasn't even going to the bank. Brown's wallet was as empty as the shelves back at Burlington Coat Factory, which didn't sit too well with her driver who, upset over being stiffed the $900 rental fee, turned her into the police.
But, the story doesn't end here. Back at the Burlington Coat Factory in Columbus, Ohio police and store managers had to inform a large crowd of shoppers that their Good Samaritan coupon had expired. To say the least, those assembled for $500 worth of coats and clothing, desperately needed as winter showed its face in Ohio today, were not happy with that news.
Despite the police presence the store became unruly with reactions ranging from simply leaving un-purchased goods where they had been standing in line, forming a giant centipede of coats, to angry individuals who took to throwing what they couldn't get for free!
According to the Associated Press, 24 police officers were called in to respond to the crowd, including Detective Steven Nace described the scene to the AP, saying, "It looks like [Hurricane] Katrina went through the store."
After the police spoke to Linda Brown they began to realize that something wasn't right, especially after they found out about her past police issues which included several warrants. Brown's daughter blames her mother's behavior on lack of medication which keeps these "extravagant" actions in check. Brown is currently in jail awaiting a mental evaluation and will likely face charges for inciting a riot.
On the bright side, nobody went home with fake coats!



Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
10-22-2009 @ 9:57AM
yankeemonkey683 said...
all I have to say is...
lol
Reply
10-16-2009 @ 10:48AM
SMP276DP said...
It was a clever ruse. People always have there hands out. Free is the best work in the English dictionary.
Reply
10-19-2009 @ 8:15AM
the Darkside5 said...
very well put... I want, I want, I want.
10-16-2009 @ 1:21PM
Mary said...
If it sounds too good too be true then guess what??????? It is!!! They were greedy shoppers , just look at the tape.
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10-16-2009 @ 7:44PM
John said...
Just a bunch of selfish, ungrateful maggots. Just wait till Black Friday they'll be out in full force.
10-16-2009 @ 1:22PM
Gordon said...
Inciting a riot? Give me a break. She said nothing inflammatory. Just because a bunch of entitlement animals acted out like children is no reason to blame her.
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10-16-2009 @ 1:55PM
DONNA said...
I AGREE WITH YOU GORDON . BUT I HAVE TO SAY SHE HAD A LOT OF GUTS FEELING RICH FOR THE MOMENT AND DOING THAT ,PLUS SHOWING UP IN A LIMO IS LIKELY BELEIVABLE.....
10-17-2009 @ 11:54AM
Dana said...
I totally agree with that it was a bunch of people wanting something for nothing and that is what is wrong with this world today seems like no one wants to work for what they get they just expect everyone else to take care of them..
10-16-2009 @ 1:22PM
LiL Mz FR34KY said...
damn..
wish i wuz there to get free stuff..
lol..
=]..
Reply
10-16-2009 @ 1:22PM
nikki said...
ok so the lady is crazy that didn't mean the whole entire store full of adults should have reacted like that grow up tear up the store u left with the same thing u entered the store with NOTHING i would make everyone who was n that store pay for damages make everyone pay a fine if she had money or not it wasnt there's
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10-17-2009 @ 2:49AM
s said...
Nikki, how are those people any different than that millions of lifetime government workers who live off our tax money?!
On average, the federal civilian wage in 2008 was $79,197, almost 50 percent greater than that of the average private-sector employee's wages of $49,935.
Pay growth in the public sector has been much higher than growth in the private sector over the years, too. Between 2000 and 2008, wages for federal civilian workers climbed by 53.7 percent, while wages in the private sector went up 28.5 percent over the same time period.
The average state and local government employee earns 29 percent more than the average private sector employee.
When wages and benefits are combined, federal civilian workers averaged $119,982 in 2008, twice the average compensation of $59,909 for private sector workers. This places the value of benefits for federal civilian workers at an average of $40,000 a year, four times the value of benefits that the average private-sector employee receives.
The majority of state workers have pension plans that allow them to retire 10 to 25 years earlier than members of the productive sector, and that provide benefits many times the retirement payout that Social Security would provide.
Tired of keeping quiet about increasing government control? Express yourself with the magnetic message: "No Hope in Socialism"
While gathering the data, The Free Enterprise Nation sampled (in the statistical sense) life in the Oink Sector:
A driver's education teacher in Illinois gets a $170,000 annual salary and $120,000 annual pension.
In New York, some city workers amass more than $100,000 in overtime during their last year before retirement to create a monthly pension higher than their salary.
420 of Illinois' physical education teachers, 332 English teachers and 94 driver's education teachers make more than $100,000 a year, with salaries for each position topping out at more than $160,000 a year.
A citizen of Houston, Texas, pondering the curious, concomitant rise in crime and taxes, would find that the number of police officers serving the community has remained the same for six years running, despite a 40 percent budget increase to cover higher salaries, pension and health-care benefits.
A small business receiving an IOU in California might be surprised to learn that in 2008, 40 percent of Vallejo's 613 employees had salaries greater than $100,000 a year, the same year the city filed for bankruptcy.
In Fort Worth, Texas, one police chief recently retired at age 55 with a guaranteed annual pension of $188,692. His successor retired at age 52 with an annual pension of $113,614. Another unremarkable State of California retiree gets an annual pension of $500,000. He was outsmarted by two University of Connecticut professors who are currently collecting six-figure pensions while simultaneously collecting similar salaries.
In another state, Free Enterprise Nation researchers discover that teachers retired at over $100,000 a year after 30 years of employment, with a guaranteed 3-percent increase per annum. "Only 12 percent of retirees from the private sector have defined benefit pensions to supplement their Social Security." The average annual pension of a private-enterprise employee is $13,083. These serfs of the state are not eligible for full Social Security benefits until their late 60s.
Early this year, still in the midst of an economic depression, the federal government awarded a 2.9 percent raise to every federal worker and a 5.9 percent raise to every retiree.
(Column continues below)
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=110931#
10-16-2009 @ 1:22PM
blackopsg3 said...
I love the hell out of this, if it sounds to good to be true most of the time it is, someone called me yesterday and told me i just won 240.000 and it was going to be sent by ups, I let him go through his spill. I ask him do i look like i just fell off a damn cabbage truck nothing is for free,..............and hung up the phone the moral to the store is stop being a sucker ........................ ha ha ha
Reply
10-16-2009 @ 10:37PM
Gail said...
Hey Blackopsg3....I got a similar call yesterday, only they told me I won some vacation. I asked them how that happened, because I hadn't entered any contest. She then said I hadn't won a trip (though not what she first said), that I was picked to go on a great trip, which I had asked how she got my name. She didn't know, so I told her to find out how. Another upbeat voice came to the phone & began to tell me of this vacation, with me again asking how they got my name. She too didn't know and I told her the same thing.....find out. She hung up on me!!! ~~ I had often thought though, if I were to win a large amount of money like that, I would like to go into a low end store such as that, Target, or such and pay for the purchased of those in the store. The reason for a lower end store vs a high quality store as one mentioned in a post, would be that people in a high end store would be able to afford it and those in a lower end could probably need some help and appreciate it, plus you could do more for more people in such a store. Also, do such a thing at a grocery store. Not nesessarily All the people in the store, but those that were presently at the registers. Hearing of this story, it makes me wonder if a wise thing to do!!!
10-16-2009 @ 1:22PM
Kevin said...
I like the idea of getting a limo first. They could make a movie out of this.
Reply
10-16-2009 @ 3:08PM
Desconocido said...
I bet they will. I hope is funny.
10-16-2009 @ 1:22PM
Patricia said...
The article says that she paid for many purchases with her debit card. Apparently those went through. If she didn't win the lottery then she must have been paying for things with her own money. Even though she lied and incited a riot (and she still owes the limo driver), she still did a good deed by buying coats for all of those people. Although her family must be upset that she wiped out her bank account.
What I can't figure out is her motive? She must be crazy.
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10-16-2009 @ 1:22PM
nikki said...
i think they did say she has a mental condition, duh.
10-16-2009 @ 1:22PM
Johnny Russell said...
She must have bought a few coats. The story says : "Brown's debit card could take no more." When you use your debit card the charge is deducted post haste. It seems she made a few people happy.
Reply
10-16-2009 @ 1:22PM
nikki said...
wow! that is funny as hell! i mean its sad that she has a mental condition, but funny. i know when she gets in her right mind she gona be mad to find out that she broke broke broke!
Reply
10-16-2009 @ 1:22PM
Chalondra said...
I have seen this because I work with the mentally ill. Typically those that suffer from these type of episodes are those who suffer from bipolar and some form of schizophrenia. It is really sad to see. I have had several patients who have done similar things. Not announcing they won the lottery, but delusions of grandeur and thinking they are rich and go out and max out their credit cards when they are off of their medication for one reason or another. Hopefully she will get the help she needs.
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