MOUNT DORA, Fla. – A convicted sex predator who won $3 million in the Florida Lottery had agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by his alleged victims for $150,000, newly released court records indicate.
However, Timothy Poole failed to make payments in February and March as outlined in the settlement, according to the plaintiffs' attorney.
Now, a judge has entered a judgment against Poole for $300,000.
Under the agreement, Poole's failure to make timely payments would result in the doubling of the financial settlement, court records show.
"(Poole) made promises, written promises, to satisfy the damage that he caused. And he's not following through with those," said the plaintiffs' attorney, Jason Recksiedler. "We put a provision in that agreement to make sure he would be punished further with respect to not paying."
In December 2014, Poole struck it rich playing a Super Millions scratch-off ticket purchased at a Mount Dora 7-Eleven store. Lottery officials said he chose to receive his winnings in a one-time, lump-sum payment of $2,219,807.
A News 6 investigation revealed that Poole is a convicted sexual predator who is required to register his home address with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
In 1996, Poole was accused of sexually molesting two boys, ages 5 and 9. He served three years in prison after pleading guilty to the lesser charge of attempted sexual battery.
Poole insists he is innocent, despite entering a plea in the case.
"It may be hard for some to believe, but sometimes people are wrongly accused," Poole told News 6 in 2014.
Following news of Poole's big lottery jackpot, his alleged victims, now adults, filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages.
The plaintiffs claimed Poole, a family friend and babysitter, molested them multiple times in their home, his truck and at his house beginning in 1996.
The alleged victims claim Poole's actions caused "significant physical, mental, emotional and sexual harm," according to their lawsuit.
Days before the jury trial was scheduled to begin in January, Poole reached a settlement with the plaintiffs, court records show.
The terms of that settlement were originally confidential. But when Poole defaulted on the agreement by failing to make payments on Feb. 20 and March 20, Recksiedler was allowed to petition the court for a judgment against the lottery winner.
"I don't know where that money is, but I'm going to find out," said Recksiedler, who is now attempting to collect $300,000 from Poole.
The plaintiff's attorney has submitted a questionnaire to Poole seeking financial information. He is also trying to schedule a deposition with the lottery winner.
"We want to know where his bank accounts are. Any investment accounts," Recksiedler said. "We want to establish a money trail from where that original lottery winnings were deposited to where every penny is today."
Once Recksiedler identifies Poole's assets, he said he will attempt to seize them, such as by placing liens on the sex predator's property or garnishing his wages.
Shortly after winning the multimillion lottery prize, Poole moved into a 20-year-old, $85,000 mobile home located across the street from his previous house, records show.
People close to Poole tell News 6 he used some of his winnings to expand his late mother's taxicab business.
Poole declined to explain to News 6 why he defaulted on the settlement payments and how he has spent his lottery winnings.
"No comment at this time. Please leave. The police are on the way," Poole told a News 6 reporter who visited his home.
By defaulting on the settlement, Recksiedler says Poole has re-victimized the plaintiffs.
"No amount of money is going to compensate the harm that's done, but what it does is bring closure to the situation," said the attorney. "And here there's not closure."