Kentucky Powerball winner takes his $167,000,000 fortune to Walmart. Then he faces a fresh criminal charge, and it’s the fifth one

They say not to let money go to your head, but in James Farthing’s case, it certainly did. As reported by People, Farthing (51) won a $167.3 million Powerball jackpot in April 2025. Previous reports noted that the prize was the largest Powerball jackpot in Kentucky history.

On Sunday, Farthing was arrested by authorities around 4:04 a.m. after they found him sleeping inside a parked vehicle that was still running at a Walmart outlet in Georgetown, People reported. He was then allegedly charged with intoxication in public after authorities found him to be “impaired,” with “bloodshot and watery eyes,” “slurred speech,” and “difficulty maintaining his balance.” Authorities also reportedly smelled alcohol and marijuana on him.

The People article mentioned that when they found Farthing, he said a woman had driven him to the parking lot and left him there. However, according to WHAS11, authorities reviewed the area’s CCTV footage and found nothing to support Farthing’s claims. The recording apparently showed Farthing’s Mustang arriving at the parking lot, but did not show anyone getting out before authorities arrived.

A long list of arrests before this one

Farthing’s shenanigans purportedly began almost immediately after he won the Powerball jackpot. The People article noted that days after the win, he was arrested in Pinellas County, Florida, following a dispute at a resort. 

He reportedly faced battery charges for supposedly attacking a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest. He also apparently kicked an officer who was attempting to break up a fight between Farthing and another individual. After this, he was arrested 3 other times, making his September 20, 2026 arrest his fifth since it all started. 

Farthing’s second arrest came almost a year after the first. In February 2026, police took him into custody and charged him with intimidating a participant in the legal process. In March, he was arrested on charges of second-degree burglary and marijuana possession after he was accused of entering a home in Lexington, Kentucky, and taking about $12,000 in cash.

Farthing was arrested for the fourth time in July in Scott County following an alleged domestic-violence incident. He faced multiple charges, including “first-degree strangulation,” “domestic-violence-related” charges, and fourth-degree assault, domestic violence, and causing minor injury. The victim had apparently told police that she and Farthing had an argument after they returned from a boating trip and that he had put both hands around her neck and tried to strangle her.

Currently, Farthing is being held at the Scott County Detention Center in Georgetown, Kentucky.

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