Georgia man who won $3 million sentenced to decades in federal prison

The south Georgia man who used his $3 million lottery winnings to buy crystal methamphetamine for resale was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison Monday.

Ronnie Music Jr., 45, of Waycross, pleaded guilty in 2016 in federal court in Brunswick to drug trafficking and firearms charges, U.S. Attorney Ed Tarver said. Music worked with others to possess and distribute meth in Ware County and elsewhere, Tarver said.

“This case has received a great deal of light-hearted coverage because of Mr. Music’s unsound investment decision to buy crystal meth with his lottery winnings," said Acting U.S. Attorney Jim Durham said.

"The truth of the matter is this: Mr. Music is a predator who has destroyed lives by pushing poison and fear," Durham added. "As law enforcement and prosecutors, our job is to protect our communities by sending predators like Music to federal prison for a very long time.”

“Defendant Music decided to test his luck by sinking millions of dollars of lottery winnings into the purchase and sale of crystal meth,” Tarver said.

Music won a Georgia Lottery scratchers game in 2015, prosecutors said.

In September 2015, his accomplices were caught trying to sell about 11 pounds of crystal meth worth more than $500,000, prosecutors said. Music was identified as a source for the drug.

Cox Media Group