Detroit: Infamous 'food stamp' lottery winner found dead

Detroit - Amanda Clayton got the break she needed to trade in her food stamps on an opportune lottery win that could have changed her life for the better.

Instead, in 2011, after winning $1 million in Michigan’s ‘Make Me Rich’ lottery program, Clayton gained notoriety for continuing to collect food stamps after the win and for saying she was still entitled to the welfare subsidy, according to a USA Today report. In July, Clayton was charged by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette with felony welfare fraud and sentenced to nine months of probation. She was also ordered by court to repay the approximately $5,500 in food and medical assistance she received well after her lottery payout. Saturday, Clayton was found dead by police at about 9 a.m. at a home in Ecorse, according to a USA Today report. Food stamp fraud, even after winning $1 million, became a part of Clayton’s legacy after stirring the emotions of taxpayers and welfare recipients nationwide by claiming she still needed the subsidies after her windfall. State law requires that anyone with income changes on assistance programs report those changes within 10 days. Clayton was on food assistance from 2010 to 2012. According to the report, Clayton was found dead in her home of a possible drug overdose.