Elderly lottery winner who invested his money in building a drug empire worth $3.3 million.

 

In 2010, an 80-year-old elderly lottery winner used his jackpot to build $3.3 million drug empire, disguised as a lawful business, from the comfort of his cottage, alongside his son. When asked, the neighbours said, “He drove around in a simple van and looked normal unlike something out of Breaking Bad.”

John Eric Spiby, 80, was known to be a sweet elderly neighbour living next to others, minding his business, and spending his end days alongside his son, a kind of life no one would want to question. 

Some probably believed how lucky for the son, after his father won the 2010 national lottery jackpot, could enjoy some pleasures of it, alongside his father. Even better? If they put the money in growing their family business. 

Well, the elderly was busy selling pills and living a life of crime, disguised as a lawful business. He, along with the son, also had a fake company and a website advertising. Their inventory involved mixers, packaging machines, and powdered supplements. 

John had bought a small red brick cottage in 2010, shortly after winning his lottery. He chose that particular cottage because it was located in a way where no one would walk past, except a few cars. But he used the rest of his money to put it back into his illegal empire, buying industrial-level tablet-manufacturing set-up, which was capable of making thousands of tablets per hour.

But in May 2022, when the police raided their cottage, they found out that John had converted his garage completely. He had also hired a van where he had stashed away 2.6 million fake diazepam pills that were worth $17 million. The father and son, had also hired two other associates to help with the business. they would these produce counterfeit tables and sell it for as far as $400 million. 

The neighbours never saw any signs that would point against the halo image the John had worked hard to build.

John was jailed for 16 years for selling Class C drug, possessing a firearm, raw materials, and ammunition. Whereas his son, was jailed for 9 years for produce and supply of Class C drugs. As for John’s wife..she’s still living there with her daughter. Although people no longer see much of them, as they have decided to keep a low profile henceforth.