A Michigan couple who won the lottery in 2016 were just charged in a months-long burglary spree

Michigan Lottery Bureau

  • A couple charged with a string of Michigan-area burglaries were lottery winners just three years ago.

  • Stephanie Harvell and Mitchell Arnswald were arrested last week on suspicion of committing a slew of daytime burglaries spanning five Michigan counties over a period of two months.

  • In 2016, Harvell said in a Michigan Lottery press release that she won $500,000 on the same day she received an eviction notice, and that she intended to buy a home and car, and start college funds for her children.

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Three years ago, Stephanie Harvell and Mitchell Arnswald were at the center of a heartwarming local story after they won $500,000 in a lottery the very day Harvell received an eviction notice.

"I cried like a bay when I saw what I'd won," Harvell said in a 2016 Michigan Lottery press release, explaining that she, her husband, and their two daughters lived paycheck-to-paycheck and recently lost their car. "I still can't believe it."

Last week, Harvell, 28, and Arnswald, 29, were arrested in connection with a string of burglaries spanning five Michigan counties over a period of two months.

stephanie harvell mitchell arnswald
stephanie harvell mitchell arnswald

Bay County Sheriff Troy Cunningham told MLive shortly after the couple's arrest that authorities from the surrounding counties have seen a slew of daytime burglaries, and were working together to figure out which ones they believe the couple committed.

In just Bay County alone, a dozen such crimes were reported in the previous 60 days, Cunningham said.

"We believe they could be responsible for more than what we know of," he added.

Read more: Someone in California bought a winning lottery ticket worth more than half a billion dollars — here's exactly what a lottery winner should do, according to a financial adviser

stephanie harvell mitchell arnswald
stephanie harvell mitchell arnswald

Bay County Sheriff's Office via Associated Press

In the 2016 lottery press release, Harvell said she planned to use her winnings to buy a house and a new car, and start college funds for her daughters.

"It's hard to find words for what this means to our family, but it couldn't have come at a better time," she said.

Harvell and Arnswald are hardly the first lottery winners to run into trouble shortly after receiving their windfall.

Insider has previously documented some of the better-known side effects to winning the lottery, which include being scammed, getting taken advantage of by friends and family, receiving unwanted public attention, and overspending.

Court records show that both Harvell and Arnswald are due in court on September 13.

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