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How £100m crime boss The Iceman built Soprano-style drug dynasty before being busted thanks to grotty Amsterdam brothel

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How £100m crime boss The Iceman built Soprano-style drug dynasty before being busted thanks to grotty Amsterdam brothel

AS one of Britain’s most feared criminal kingpins, Jamie Stevenson earned the nickname The Iceman – but a series of hasty moves led to his downfall.

Glaswegian Stevenson, who was behind a £100 million cocaine smuggling operation, was brought to justice after leaving an encrypted phone behind as he fled the cops, by meeting a banana salesman in a Spanish hotel and when a traceable credit card was used in a brothel.

Jamie Stevenson with wife Caroline, before his arrest

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Jamie Stevenson with wife Caroline, before his arrestCredit: Social media
Packages of cocaine worth £100 million found in imported banana boxes

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Packages of cocaine worth £100 million found in imported banana boxes
Street valium from Stevenson's Kent factory

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Street valium from Stevenson’s Kent factory

The 59-year-old gangster, who was suspected of ordering a hit on his former best man, has been likened to fictional mob boss Tony Soprano due to his ruthlessness.

As the head of a criminal enterprise which stretched not only the length of the United Kingdom, but as far abroad as Spain, Abu Dhabi and Ecuador, The Iceman oversaw a complex operation.

For that to work, he needed many lieutenants and to make deals with other criminals.

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But like so many thieves, they fell out over money and power, bringing them down.  

Stevenson thought he could evade the detectives who had been hot on his heels for decades but they pounced on his slip-ups.

Stevenson was jailed for 20 years on Wednesday, with the other members of his gang receiving a total of 29 years behind bars.

Graeme Pearson, a former director of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, said: “Jamie Stevenson has, for many decades now, been a very senior figure in organised crime and would be counted amongst that very small group of people as being at the top of the pyramid and he ran his business much the way The Sopranos were shown to run their business on television.”

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Life of crime

Stevenson grew up in the Red Road flats in the Barmulloch area of Glasgow, gaining a reputation as a petty criminal who was willing to use a knife.

Just before the turn of the century he started doing deals with Barry and James Gillespie, two of Scotland’s most wanted criminals.

He also became pally with Tony McGovern, part of a notorious crime family in the Scottish city.

Glamorous Fugitive: The Untold Story of Lynne Leyson
Jamie at his wedding with Caroline and stepson Gerry Carbin

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Jamie at his wedding with Caroline and stepson Gerry Carbin
Jamie with his lawyer and a pal as they leave Glasgow Crown Court

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Jamie with his lawyer and a pal as they leave Glasgow Crown CourtCredit: Pressteam Scotland

They were so close that Tony and Jamie were best men at each other’s weddings.

But when the friends fell out over lucrative drug deals and in September 2000, Stevenson was lured to a quiet spot in Lanarkshire where shots were fired at his head from close range.

He managed to escape alive.

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Three months later, Tony was shot dead by masked gunmen.

The police charged Stevenson with the hit but the allegations were dropped due to a lack of evidence.

Ice cold reputation

Stevenson was arrested over the murder of his best man Tony McGovern

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Stevenson was arrested over the murder of his best man Tony McGovernCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Stevenson's home that he was forced to sell

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Stevenson’s home that he was forced to sellCredit: Pressteam
A drugs meet in a hotel was part of Stevenson's downfall

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A drugs meet in a hotel was part of Stevenson’s downfallCredit: POLICE SCOTLAND/UNPIXS

It was enough to turn The Iceman, who posed as a car valeter, into a feared mobster.

The authorities first caught up with him in 2007, when Stevenson was jailed for nearly 13 years for laundering £1 million worth of drugs cash.

The Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency had bugged the suspects homes and heard details of their plan to launder criminal proceeds using a bogus taxi firm. 

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As a result Stevenson, whose stepson Gerard Carbin was convicted of his part in the illegal operation, was ordered to pay £750,000 to the treasury. 

He ran his business much the way The Sopranos were shown to run their business on television

Graeme Pearson

Police seized 48 watches, including 13 Rolexes and five Cartier ones, plus £13,445 of jewellery.

Stevenson was also forced to sell his four bedroom home in East Kilbride, which had giraffe prints on the floor and a jacuzzi bath.

A lengthy spell of incarceration did not deter the career criminal.

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Following his release Stevenson set about reestablishing his drugs network.

He was a known associate of convicted drug dealer Stephen Jamieson.

The drugs were hidden among bananas

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The drugs were hidden among bananas
Stevenson was also involved in the production and supply of street valium

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Stevenson was also involved in the production and supply of street valiumCredit: NCA

Banana plot

The police had their first breakthrough in 2019, when they learned that fruit trader David Bilsland, 67, from Glasgow, had suddenly started taking large consignments of bananas from Ecuador.

The South American nation has strong ties to cocaine trafficking due to its close proximity to Colombia, where the  deadly substance is grown.

The pieces of the puzzle fell into place when Bilsland met Stevenson in Alicante, Spain on in February 2020.

Suspicious that Bilsland was making the round trip in one day, they asked Spanish police to track him.

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They then kept an eye on the importations, the first 17 of which had no drugs in them.

Stevenson was compared to Tony Soprano

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Stevenson was compared to Tony SopranoCredit: Alamy
Stevenson met the banana dealer at the hotel in Alicante

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Stevenson met the banana dealer at the hotel in AlicanteCredit: Alamy
Police arrested him at the castle hotel in Glasgow

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Police arrested him at the castle hotel in GlasgowCredit: John Kirkby – Commissioned by The Sun

Around the same time detectives also caught wind of a factory in Kent capable of churning out 250,000 street valium pills every hour.

That was raided in June 2020 and police set about arresting Stevenson for running the operation.

When plain clothes officers surrounded the Sherbrooke Castle Hotel in Glasgow on June 12, Stevenson believed they were gangsters about to assassinate him.

He fled the scene, jumping over a fence, before falling down an embankment where he was caught by the officers.

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It was reminiscent of a scene in The Sopranos where Tony Soprano also stumbled down an embankment.

Remarkably, Stevenson was given bail in Carlisle, allowing him to flee to Holland.

His big mistake was to leave behind an encrypted mobile phone in his hasty flit.

That allowed detectives to uncover details of messages between Stevenson and many of his criminal associates, largely thanks to data shared by French officers.

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Stevenson had been using the name “bigtasty” in secretly recorded phone calls.

For two years the drug boss was able to direct drug operations in the UK from a hideout in Holland.

The real-life Soprano

1999 – Stevenson starts working with criminal brothers Barry and James Gillespie 

2001 – Stevenson is accused of the murder of his best man Tony McGovern, but the case is dropped.

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2007 – Stevenson is jailed for 12 years for laundering £1 million worth of drugs money.

2014 – The prisoner is released from jail.

February 2020 – Stevenson meets banana importer David Bilsland in a hotel in Spain.

June 2020 – Stevenson is arrested in connection with a street valium factory in Kent.

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June 2020 – While on bail, the drug dealer flees to Holland.

September 2020 – £100 million worth of cocaine found in banana boxes in the port of Dover, Kent.

February 2022 – Stevenson is arrested while jogging in  Bergen op Zoom, Holland.

October 2022 – The drugs lord is jailed for 20 years, for smuggling cocaine and running the street valium factory.

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In September 2020 he sent a consignment of cocaine worth an estimated £100 million to Dover hidden in boxes of bananas.

The National Crime Agency knew it was coming, but it took them three days to find all 119 packages of the white powder.

Stevenson’s exact whereabouts were unknown until one of his friends used an emergency credit card while drinking heavily at a brothel in Amsterdam.

The authorities had a trace on that card and using CCTV footage where able to work out where Stevenson had been staying.

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He was arrested while jogging in a park in the south of Holland in February 2022.

Gerry McLean, the NCA’s Regional Head of Investigation for Scotland, said: “It does not matter where fugitives go, we will work with partners like the Dutch National Police who’ve provided superb help, to trace and arrest them.”

Once Stevenson was in custody in the UK, he admitted orchestrating the drug operation.

His associates Gerry Carbin, 45, Ryan McPhee, 34, Paul Bowes, 53, David Bilsland, 67, and Lloyd Cross, 32, were also jailed.

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A pal's drunken visit to a brothel in Amsterdam was his downfall

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A pal’s drunken visit to a brothel in Amsterdam was his downfallCredit: Getty
Gerry Carbin, Ryan McPhee and Lloyd Cross were part of the criminal gang

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Gerry Carbin, Ryan McPhee and Lloyd Cross were part of the criminal gangCredit: CPS/UNPIXS
An ice-cream shop belonging to the Iceman's wife Caroline

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An ice-cream shop belonging to the Iceman’s wife CarolineCredit: Alan MacGregor Ewing
Convicted cocaine dealer Stephen Jamieson and Jamie Stevenson

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Convicted cocaine dealer Stephen Jamieson and Jamie Stevenson

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Travel

Six Senses’ New Wellness-Focused Resort is Slated for Pennsylvania

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(credit: Six Senses RiverStone Estate)

Six Senses RiverStone Estate marks the latest milestone in the brand’s thoughtful entry into the Americas market with a growing list of U.S. properties announced for locations including Telluride, South Carolina and Napa Valley. Situated on a sprawling wooded ridge, outside the quaint Western Pennsylvania town of Foxburg, just 90 minutes north of Pittsburgh, the resort will showcase Six Senses special brand of sustainable, wellness hospitality. At the confluence of the Allegheny and Clarion rivers, the 1,200 acre estate boasts a history dating back to the early 1800’s.

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Scheduled to open in 2028, the wellness-focused resort and branded residences feature 77 guest rooms and 40 residences and is anchored by a majestic three-story stone mansion. Carefully restored by the estate’s former owner, the late Dr. Art Steffee, the 13,000 sq. ft. stone mansion was first constructed in the 1820’s and is set alongside a Victorian carriage house designed by renowned Philadelphia architect Frank Furness. Blending an off-grid vibe with all the luxurious amenities, the comforts are modern and the property will feature a dynamic art program across multiple art disciplines.  

(credit: Six Senses RiverStone Estate)

Guests and owners will experience the Six Senses ethos of wellness and sustainability through their offerings and will be welcomed into a community for connection and reflection. “Six Senses RiverStone Estate will provide an enchanting canvas for new layers of wellness programming, creative cuisine, meaningful connections, and leaps of faith into new discoveries,” said Neil Jacobs, CEO, of Six Senses, which is part of IHG Hotels & Resorts’ Luxury & Lifestyle portfolio.

From the over 50 miles of trails and seven miles of riverfront to the 16,000 sq. ft. Six Senses Spa, the country estate will promote wellness through all of its offerings. Guests can partake in leisurely hiking, biking and foraging or book a high-tech wellness experience or signature treatment at the Spa with scenic views. The property will also boast a 4,500 sq. ft. fitness center that will tackle everything from preparation to recovery for new and seasoned athletes. Outside the center, a 25-meter pool welcomes swimmers of all ages with a range of leisure programming and relaxed energy. On property is also an equestrian center which is home to a 22,000 sq. ft. indoor riding arena, 36 stalls with heated floors and quiet corners for an equine therapy program.

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(credit: Six Senses RiverStone Estate)

Wellness is extended as well to its food and beverage program as the cuisine will emphasize local and organic produce and game. Guests can indulge in house-made ice cream or dig into a jar of maple syrup produced onsite from the property’s 5,000+ maple trees. Along with its specialty restaurant, a central courtyard with smaller tasting bars and an Orchard Alley pop-up experience will provide additional dining options.

“Six Senses RiverStone Estate will be a peaceful refuge for guests to experience mental, physical and spiritual connection. We are stewards of the property for generations to come and share in the Six Senses ethos of sustainability, nurturing and conserving land, and revitalizing the Foxburg community. After spending time on this magical property, we knew we needed to share it with the world,” concluded Six Senses Riverstone Estate Ownership Partner, Saji Daniel.

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Chelsea thrash Gent to show the value of the Conference League

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LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 03: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall of Chelsea celebrates scoring his team's fourth goal during the UEFA Conference League 2024/25 League Phase MD1 match between Chelsea FC and KAA Gent at Stamford Bridge on October 03, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Chelsea 4-2 Gent (Veiga 12′, Neto 46′, Nkunku 63′, Dewsbury-Hall 70’| Watanabe 50′, Gandelman 90′)

STAMFORD BRIDGE — As Christopher Nkunku launched Chelsea’s third goal through a Renaissance fresco of flailing bodies, Stamford Bridge morphed into a Coldplay concert.

30,000 fans in blue held their phones torches to the sky, united by an oddly beautiful idea, and took a deep breath.

“Who are ya, who are ya!”

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The dancing horde of Gent fans, who began singing 30 minutes before kick-off and didn’t stop, had had the temerity to celebrate their sole goal with a light show of their own. For all the gags about Chelsea’s slide into Europe’s third tier, you couldn’t say the home fans weren’t buying into the spirit of the Conference League.

The two-time Champions League winners are having fun again, with five consecutive wins cause for genuine optimism.

And given the last two years have been quite so draining and alienating and agonising, every night like this is a personal session of footballing therapy, a reminder this is supposed to be enjoyable. It may not have been hugely memorable, but it wasn’t complicated. That’ll do.

Enzo Maresca will undoubtedly find plenty to criticise in the performance, often sloppy and lackadaisical, but equally functional and without great trepidation. The first 30 minutes had the air of an exhibition game, with Chelsea afforded a degree of respect their name commands but their players largely didn’t.

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Fading after a positive start, Mykhailo Mudryk took an occasional break from standing on the touchline like a poorly-disguised Hollywood henchman to produce a slick first-time cross from the right wing for Renato Veiga’s first Chelsea goal.

Pedro Neto jolted about like an electric shock, a nuisance capped off by scoring a sweet half-volley just 39 seconds after half-time.

Nkunku was largely absent bar his goal, while this was Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s best performance since his move, capped off by scoring a sharp fourth. Conceding twice for the second consecutive game was an aide-memoire there’s still a lot of defensive work to do.

But overall, this was a sign that Europe’s third tier will provide opportunity for both fans and players to enjoy themselves, an odyssey from Astana to Armenia for the proliferation and preservation of vibes. If Uefa’s seeding holds any weight, this could well be Chelsea’s most difficult game of the entire competition.

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Fans are right to believe anything but a perfect run to the trophy is failure given Chelsea spent more this summer than every other Conference League club combined, but that’s missing a key point – sometimes this is allowed to be fun. The destination is a long way away. Just enjoy the journey for now.

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Business

My Old Ass film review — Aubrey Plaza meets her younger self in slyly charming comedy

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For roughly a decade and a half, Aubrey Plaza has been one of the best things about American film and TV; she’s currently the main redeeming feature of Francis Ford Coppola’s preposterous Megalopolis. For years, she was a brilliant young supporting asset, the embodiment of cool disdain, with eyes that appeared to roll ironically even when they didn’t. Now she is eminent enough to be the star guest in someone else’s story: in My Old Ass, she drops by now and then as, essentially, the fairy godmother to her character’s younger self.

In Megan Park’s spiky but tender-hearted comedy, 18-year-old Elliott (Maisy Stella) is celebrating her last summer at home in rural Ontario before leaving for the city and the dazzling adventures that await. At first, her summer is defined by intense romance with another young woman, but then — one night guzzling mushroom tea — she meets her future 39-year-old self.

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This is a wiser, world-weary Elliott — and a softer than usual Plaza, whose nevertheless caustic aura leavens the script as she delivers such cosy wisdoms as, “The only thing you can’t get back is time.” Plaza carries it off gamely but with a characteristic air of disbelief. In a smart reversal, it’s left to Stella to make the wiseacre retorts.

Maisy Stella as Elliott

Older Elliott also has some urgent advice to impart from two decades hence: steer clear of someone called Chad. At which point, a rangy stranger by that name (Percy Hynes White) steps into view.

Set against a shimmering backdrop of water and woods, this turns out to be a sweetly philosophical coming-of-age story in which it’s the older self who comes of age, reconciling with her past and young Elliott’s future. It takes all of Plaza’s weird chanting inflections and Stella’s exuberantly twitchy enthusiasm to make it pay off — but it does, with sly charm.

★★★★☆

In cinemas from October 4

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Moment Rose's rescuers celebrate down the pub after 8 days grafting to free her from rock

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Moment Rose's rescuers celebrate down the pub after 8 days grafting to free her from rock


Rose is finally free!

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A Different Man review — a bravura tale of boy meets girl meets doppelgänger

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No one tell Joaquin Phoenix, but Joker: Folie à Deux is only the week’s second best psychodrama made with a pining for early 1980s New York. The actual winner of that contest is A Different Man, though you wouldn’t know it from the marketing. In the UK, Aaron Schimberg’s jagged black comedy is being released with fanfare so hushed, it may be audible only to bats. For those who do seek it out, the reward will be one of the most interesting films of the year: a singular tale of boy meets girl meets doppelgänger.

The first of the male characters is played by Adam Pearson, the actor whose genetic condition neurofibromatosis causes extensive facial tumours. (You might have seen him in Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin.) Pearson is British, but his character, Edward, is American: an actor too, though less successful. His face is the central fact of a life lived timidly in a cramped Manhattan walk-up while besotted with Ingrid, the wannabe playwright next door. (She is played by Renate Reinsve from 2022’s The Worst Person in the World.)

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The thought of a jobless actor and aspiring writer making the rent in New York feels wilfully dated: the ghost of a gamier version of the city, present too in scenes of exotic bar life and gags about Woody Allen. That stretch to reality also sets the tone for the turning point: an experimental medical process that “cures” Edward. (You can see the film as a less gory companion to last week’s feminist body horror The Substance.) 

The punchline is droll. An all-new Edward now emerges, played by Marvel actor Sebastian Stan. Yet even gifted with the features of a movie star, his aims stay modest. A job in real estate beckons.

But this is not the last we see of Pearson. That much is down to a bravura flip Schimberg gives the script, keeping us off balance while questions spark from the film. Are we made or self made? Does what we see in the mirror ever really change? Ticklish ideas keep coming in a grimly funny movie that can even be weirdly uplifting in its own skewed way. 

The story comes to focus on Ingrid’s debut play, drawn from Edward’s life. Cyrano de Bergerac is referenced, but in telling the tale of a disabled character, the movie is very much about itself. The surprise is how self-aware it can be without losing the attention of everyone else. Schimberg deserves credit, so too Stan and Reinsve — but it is Pearson who brings depth and delight to this peekaboo game of life and art.

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★★★★☆

In UK cinemas from October 4, and in US cinemas now

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Money

My £450,000 lottery win has been slowly ruining my life – relatives I hate are gagging for cash

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My £450,000 lottery win has been slowly ruining my life - relatives I hate are gagging for cash

A LOTTERY winner who scooped a staggering £450,000 says it ruined her life.

The woman became bombarded by her family members who wanted a chunk of her cash.

The woman said her parents believed they deserved the money

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The woman said her parents believed they deserved the moneyCredit: Alamy

She explained how what first started as a dream come true became a living nightmare.

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“I never thought winning the lottery would be anything other than a dream come true,” she wrote on Reddit.

“But here I am, with more money than I ever imagined, and it feels like my life is falling apart.”

Her troubles first started with her boyfriend, who took it upon himself to decide what they would do with the cash.

read more on lottery winners

“I couldn’t believe my eyes—I had won £450,000. At first, I was in shock. I called my boyfriend, James, and he rushed over, equally ecstatic.

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“We were both over the moon, dreaming of what we could do with the money. But the dream quickly turned into a nightmare.”

She said James wanted to quit his job, buy a luxury car and invest in ‘risky’ ventures.

“When I suggested we take things slow and maybe talk to a financial advisor, he got defensive. He accused me of not trusting him and said I was trying to control everything,” she explained.

She won the staggering amount of money after buying a lottery ticket on a whim.

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I won $1m at 28 playing a lottery scratch-off – I swore I wouldn’t be a statistic & after 8 years I have nothing left-

It wasn’t until she saw the number draw on TV and realised she’d won.

The woman added: “Then my family got involved. My parents, who I’ve always had a strained relationship with, suddenly wanted to reconnect.

“They started dropping hints about their financial struggles and how they could use some help.”

After having issues with her parents, her sister also wanted a share of the winnings.

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“My sister, who’s always been jealous of me, outright demanded a share, saying she deserved it for all the times she ‘supported’ me. It felt like they were all looking at me differently, like I was just a bank to them now.”

Her boyfriend started to distance himself from her and they eventually split up.

The lottery winner said that when he moved out, he took some of the money with him as a “parting gift”.

At the time, her parents became “more aggressive” in their demands for the cash.

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Her mum and dad believed they were entitled to her winnings because they’d raised her.

“My sister called me greedy and accused me of abandoning my family. I felt trapped and overwhelmed, unable to make anyone happy,” the woman added.

“I’m alone with my fortune, but I’ve never felt poorer. My family is barely speaking to me, and I’ve lost someone I thought I’d spend my life with.

“I’ve hired a financial advisor and a therapist to help me navigate this new reality, but the emotional toll is immense.”

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