MIDLAND (WWJ) -- In 2010, Leroy N. Fick won the $2 million jackpot in Michigan’s “Make Me Rich” lottery.
But in a sad turn of events over the weekend, police confirmed that he had been found dead in the Tittabawassee River.
The body of the 69-year-old man from Auburn was identified after he was discovered by the Midland Police Department, according to MLive.com.
Authorities received the tip after a person spotted him floating in the river between Whiting Drive and Dublin Avenue around 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.
The circumstances surrounding Fick’s death are not being regarded as suspicious by police, but the investigation is ongoing.
When Fick hit the jackpot over a decade ago, he took the lump sum of $998,570, using his winnings to build a brand new $200,000 home. He also spent around $200,000 in annuities, and another large portion on fireworks and a Chevrolet Camaro.
He was later featured on TLC’s “Lottery Changed My Life,” but two years later, Fick’s money was largely gone and his life was plagued by legal troubles.
In 2012, he spent time in jail as the result of a drug conviction in Isabella County, and was also charged with three misdemeanors for possession of illegal fireworks in Bay County that same year.
Fick eventually was living on an income of just over $1,000 a month, and ended up receiving government assistance in the form of a Bridge Card.
As a result of that and another similar case, the state of Michigan now requires the Michigan Lottery to report any winners who receive $1,000 or more to the Department of Human Services.
When speaking to a judge about how he lost his winnings, Fick said the whole situation just “blew up in [his] face.”
“I thought people would love me if I helped them out some. I had the wrong idea, I guess,” he said. “They all turned on me and that was it.”
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