Family of Canadian Who Won $8 Million Fear He Was Murdered in Ethiopia

A Canadian man whose fortunes changed overnight two years ago when he went from being laid off to becoming a multi-millionaire has died in Ethiopia, Global Affairs Canada has confirmed.

NTD Newsroom

Published: 9/24/2019, 6:02:01 PM EDT

Family of Canadian Who Won $8 Million Fear He Was Murdered in Ethiopia — Michael Gebru from Scarborough, Ontario, was shocked to learn he won over C$10 from the lottery. He has since been found dead in his homeland Ethiopia. (Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation)

Canadian national Michael Gebru who hit the lottery jackpot with over $10 million (Canadian) in 2017 was found dead in his native Ethiopia under suspicious circumstances, Global Affairs Canada has confirmed.

Gebru, 41, who lived in Scarborough, an administrative division in Toronto won the lottery and netted 10.7 C$ (which equals 8.08 USD) two years ago, always said he would use his fortune to help others, would he ever win the jackpot.

'I've always said that if I won the lottery, I'd help people in need,' he said back in 2017, CBC reported.

And so he did. As soon as he turned from a laid-off manufacturing plant worker to a millionaire overnight, he donated generously to several Ethiopian orthodox churches in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Canada. He also split time between his home in Canada and Ethiopia, his country of birth.

"Going back home, he just wanted to do more for our country," Sosuna Asefaw, Gebru's nephew told CBC.

His niece, Hanna Tegegne, was the last one who had spoken to him two weeks ago before Gebru left for a visit to the region where he grew up in Ethiopia, the outlet reported.

According to local newspapers, Gebru's was found dead and they claimed he was murdered, probably for his fortune in a robbery attempt gone wrong on the night of Sept. 21, the Toronto Sun reported.

Despite the shadowy circumstances around Gebru's death, local police are not doing enough to resolve the matter, family members say. Hence, they have turned to the Canadian embassy in Addis Abeba for help.

It is understandable why after winning a large sum of money one would want to keep a low profile—that's exactly what an attorney for a 24-year-old Wisconsin man who won the $768 million Powerball jackpot was told to do.

$768 Million Powerball Winner Told to Disappear

Attorney Andrew Stoltmann told Manuel Franco to disappear from the public eye and social media, TMJ4 reported.

"He has good common sense," said Stoltmann. "That was my strongest advice possible."

"Seventy percent of all lottery winners end up broke within five years of winning the lottery," said Stoltmann.

According to WISN, Franco, who used to work at Target in New Berlin, took home more than $326 million.

Franco, before his win, had $1,000 in his bank account, CNBC reported, adding that was his "biggest concern."

But more concerns for Franco are in store, according to another lawyer.

“For the next two weeks, people are going to be outside of his house,” Jason M. Kurland, a lawyer who represented other large lottery winners, told The New York Times.

Kurland said that he typically tells clients to delete social media accounts before they claim their earnings. What’s more, he tells them to remove their address from public view and get new phone numbers.

Epoch Times reporter Jack Phillips contributed to this report