A Georgia man who won $3 million in a scratch-off lottery game last year could face life in prison after he invested his winnings in trafficking crystal meth, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
Ronnie Music Jr., 45, pleaded guilty last week to federal drug trafficking and firearm charges.
“Music decided to test his luck by sinking millions of dollars of lottery winnings into the purchase and sale of crystal meth,” U.S. Attorney Ed Tarver said. “As a result of his unsound investment strategy, Music now faces decades in a federal prison.”
Authorities say Music conspired with others to traffic methamphetamine in southern Georgia and elsewhere.
This past September, Music’s co-conspirators were caught attempting to sell about 11 pounds of crystal meth, with a street value over $500,000.
Music was identified as the supplier for the meth, which he had purchased for resale with his lottery winnings from 2015.
Investigators seized over $1 million worth of meth, a large cache of firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and over $600,000 in cash.
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