A Florida man won a nearly $3 million jackpot from a scratch-off lottery this week. This seemingly unknown man claimed his prize at the Florida Lottery headquarters, even posing for a picture with an oversized check of his winnings. But when 43-year-old Timothy Poole's image went online, others recognized him as a registered sex offender.

Poole was given a one-time lump-sum payout of $2,219,807.90 for winning the Super Millions scratch-off game, which costs $20 a ticket. There are 12 top winners who each receive $3 million, in Poole's pool, five more jackpots remain, spokeswoman Keri Gero said according to Orlando Sentinel.

In 2001, Poole was arrested by the Orange County Sheriff's Office for charges of sexual battery of a victim under 12, according to records.

Before that incident, he was arrested for stealing about $20,000 in food stamps from a Safeco Inc. in Ocala, where he worked as a guard in 1991.

Overall, Poole has been arrested 12 times in Florida on a variety of charges ranging from grand theft to forging checks. Records from the Florida Department of Corrections, obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, also say he served three months in prison in 1996 and a second sentence from 2003 to 2006.

The Florida Lottery took down the photo of Poole from its website after learning about his past from the media.

"We chose to not draw additional attention to this particular winner," Shelly Gerteisen, communications manager for the Florida Lottery, said.

In Florida, there are no laws prohibiting sexual predators from playing and collecting lottery winnings. The Florida Lottery cannot withhold earnings because of someone's criminal past.

"There are no registration laws that would prevent that, but if that offender was under supervision or on probation there could be additional sanctions imposed by the judge," Samantha Andrews of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said.

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