$167M Powerball Winner Arrested for Fifth Time Since Hitting Jackpot

A Kentucky man who won a life-changing $167.3 million Powerball jackpot last year has failed to change his life around.

James Farthing, 51, was arrested early Sunday (September 20)—his fifth arrest and sixth criminal case since his April 2025 windfall—after deputies allegedly found him intoxicated and asleep inside a running Ford Mustang in a Walmart parking lot in Georgetown, Ky.

Scott County sheriff’s deputies were called around 2:57 a.m. after a member of the public reported a white Mustang with temporary tags stopped in the middle of an intersection. The vehicle subsequently moved into the nearby Walmart parking lot, where deputies found Farthing asleep behind the wheel, according to an arrest citation.

Deputies said Farthing smelled of alcohol and marijuana and had bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech, and difficulty maintaining his balance.

Farthing allegedly told officers a woman had driven him to Walmart before leaving. However, deputies reviewed surveillance footage that they said showed the Mustang arriving and nobody getting out before police arrived. He was charged with alcohol intoxication in a public place.

Six Cases Since Jackpot

The arrest is the latest in a remarkable series of legal troubles for Farthing since he and his mother, Linda Grizzle, claimed Kentucky’s largest-ever Powerball jackpot.

Just days after the win, Farthing was arrested at a Florida resort following an altercation in which he was accused of punching another guest and kicking a sheriff’s deputy in the face. He later pleaded guilty to reduced misdemeanor charges and received time served.

In February, Farthing was arrested in Kentucky on a charge of intimidating a participant in the legal process after police responded to a woman who said she feared for her life.

The following month, he was arrested on second-degree burglary and marijuana possession charges after police alleged he entered a Lexington home and stole around $12,000. Those charges were later dismissed with prejudice after the homeowner testified that she had found the missing money.

He was arrested for a fourth time in July following an alleged domestic violence incident. He was charged with first-degree strangulation and fourth-degree assault after a woman accused him of putting his hands around her neck and restricting her breathing. Farthing pleaded not guilty.

In addition to the four arrests, he has been indicted over an alleged November 2025 hit-and-run crash in Lexington. Prosecutors allege he was driving at more than 100 mph before the collision and left without rendering aid.

Record Kentucky Lottery Win

Farthing bought the winning $2 Powerball ticket in Georgetown for the April 26, 2025, draw. He elected to share the jackpot with his mother, who said at the time that she planned to pay off her debts.

He was on parole when he won the jackpot following earlier convictions in Kentucky. His parole was scheduled to expire in August 2025.

Farthing’s criminal record includes convictions and arrests involving theft, drug smuggling, engaging in organized crime, domestic assault, tampering with physical evidence, and escaping from a detention facility.

His latest public intoxication case remains pending in Scott County District Court.