Who is Nolan Daniels?
A Facebook user going by that name and claiming to be one of two winners of Wednesday’s record $588 million Powerball drawing became an instant Internet sensation Friday after posting a photo purporting to show the winning ticket.
In the post, the only one that was publicly visible on his account, Daniels wrote: "Looks like I won't be going to work EVER!!!! Share this photo and I will give a random person 1 million dollars!"
By Saturday evening, more than 1.8 million Facebook users had shared the photo, hoping to cash in on Daniels’ apparent good fortune. The only problem? The photo was an obvious hoax.
The story, first reported by the Savannah Morning News (when the photo had a mere 40,000 shares), quickly went viral and was followed up everywhere from the Huffington Post to the Christian Science Monitor, as hundreds of thousands of Facebook users frantically googled Daniels’ name.
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But there was a kernel of truth in Daniels’ Facebook stunt. In comments on his post, Daniels indicated he lives in the Phoenix area, where one of the two winning tickets was sold. That much is true.
Daniels, a software developer, is listed as the co-owner of Mesa, Ariz.-based N2 Technologies, a company that helps “health care professionals … with billing, scheduling, electronic health record programs, networking and PC repairs and maintenance,” according to its website.
“Nolan's background includes (a) bachelor degree from Devry University in Computer Information Systems,” according to his online bio. He co-owns N2 Technologies with his brother, Derek Daniels, the website says.
Derek Daniels, who says the two have broken off their business partnership, posted the following on SavannahNow late Friday:
“I am Nolan's biological brother. … I get the post, it is funny to some people. However, from what I hear about his message box being full of people's stories of hardship and desire for help is kind of sad.
“Even though most knew it was fake people hang onto the most slim opportunities for some luck, some hope. … I hope people were able to shake it off. I'm sure the vast majority did. The idea of someone winning and then sharing in a second lottery is touching. Too bad it this wasn't the case.”
"I think he craves the love from people," Derek Daniels said in a conversation Saturday, when asked why he thought his brother pulled the stunt. "He did this to make himself feel better."
Nolan Daniels did not return messages to his cellphone seeking comment Saturday.
To be fair, his wasn’t the only Facebook lottery prank to fool thousands.
In April, a Facebook user claimed to have won a $656 million Mega Millions jackpot and posted a doctored photo of himself holding the “winning” ticket, offering to split the prize evenly among anyone who shared the photo on Facebook. More than 80,000 Facebook users did. The hoax turned out to be the product of a two-man, California-based comedy team called SteezylucK.