$167M Kentucky jackpot winner gets major legal win in burglary case

Kentucky Powerball winner James Farthing's latest legal battle has taken another dramatic turn. A judge has now dismissed the felony burglary charge against the $167.3 million jackpot winner after the alleged victim admitted in court that she found the cash she originally believed had been stolen. The surprising testimony, which involved a Gucci shoebox full of money and a recantation under oath, brought an abrupt end to a case that had generated headlines for weeks.

Case dismissed

A felony second-degree burglary charge against Kentucky Powerball winner James Farthing has been dismissed. This comes after the alleged victim testified under oath that she had found the money she originally reported stolen. She now believes Farthing did not take anything.

A preliminary hearing was conducted, and now the Fayette County judge has dismissed the case. At the hearing, the victim, Jacqueline Fightmaster, took the stand and told the court she had found the missing money, approximately $10,000, in a Gucci shoebox at her mother's house about three weeks before the hearing took place.

The original charge

On March 28, 2026, Farthing, 51, who won Kentucky's $167.3 million Powerball jackpot in April 2025, was charged with second-degree burglary and possession of marijuana. This was following an incident at a Lexington residence.

On that day, police responded to Fightmaster's home after her son alerted her that the home's security system had been triggered. At the time, she told police she saw a person on her rear security camera, and it sounded like her side door had been forced open.

Farthing was able to leave the scene before officers arrived. However, they tracked his vehicle, and he was arrested and charged that night. At the time, he had $48,590 in cash on him.

Original statements

According to police, Fightmaster identified the suspect as Farthing. She said it was her ex-boyfriend and that he fled the area before police arrived.

After tracking down Farthing, he talked with the police and said they were at Red Mile together earlier in the day. They got into an argument, and Fightmaster told him not to contact her again.

He said he then drove to her property to retrieve some property that was his, including a backpack that contained $60,000 in cash. Farthing told police that he had permission to be at the residence in the past.

Farthing also told police that he had given Fightmaster approximately $200,000 five or six months before the incident took place.

Victim's testimony at court

On Monday, May 11, Fightmaster took the stand during the hearing and said she would not have called the police if she had known it was Farthing who had entered the residence. She testified that by the time police arrived, she had recognized that the suspect was likely Farthing, but was overwhelmed by the situation, and everything happened so quickly.

She stated:

Everything happened so fast. I just went with it. I mean, there were guns in my house. There were about 20 police officers in the home. I was told to step outside an SUV. I was a nervous wreck.

Fightmaster did say she found the missing money about three weeks before the hearing while she was moving shoes and purses to her mother's house. She said she did try to contact investigators after finding the money, but was unable to reach anyone.

At the end of the hearing, the judge found no probable cause to proceed. They stated that Fightmaster recanted her statements under oath, and her testimony states she found the missing money. The case was dismissed.

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