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Woman pleads guilty to stealing $1 million lottery prize from her cousin

A Texas woman pleaded guilty to a felony charge and is facing up to four years in prison for stealing her cousin’s $1 million New York state lottery jackpot, officials said.

Iris Amador Argueta, 34, pleaded guilty Friday to one count of second-degree grand larceny after allegedly stealing a $1 million winning scratch-off ticket from her cousin and claiming over $500,000 of his award in November 2020, according to a press release from Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.

Argueta’s cousin bought a New York State Lottery $5 Hold ‘Em Poker scratch-off ticket in October 2020 that revealed he won a $1 million jackpot prize, according to the press release.The cousin asked Argueta to cash in the winning lottery ticket in exchange for $50,000 because he wanted to remain anonymous, the district attorney’s office said.

Argueta, who lived in Virginia at the time, drove to her cousin’s residence, took possession of the winning ticket and mailed it into the New York State Lottery to claim the winnings, according to police. She opted to receive the prize money as a one-time lump sum payment from lottery officials that totaled over $537,000, according to a press release from lottery officials in December 2020.

Argueta told her cousin that the lottery ticket only won $20,000 and gave him an envelope with $13,436, claiming the rest was taken out for taxes, according to the district attorney’s office. Argueta even presented her cousin with forged paperwork from lottery officials detailing the winnings, according to police.

Argueta’s lawyer, Lauriano Guzman, declined to comment in a phone call with CNN. The New York State Gaming Commission directed comment to the district attorney’s office.

It wasn’t until the victim came across a New York State Lottery press release that he discovered his cousin had been announced as the winner who claimed the $1 million dollar prize, and that she had received over $500,000, the district attorney’s office said.

The victim called Argueta after seeing the press release, and she insisted she had no any additional money and said he “would suffer legal consequences” if he continued to contact her, according to the district attorney’s office.

Argueta was arrested in November 2021 in Texas. In May, she forfeited $317,857 in winnings from her bank account, which was returned to her cousin, the district attorney’s office said.

Argueta “is expected to be sentenced to 1-1/3 years to 4 years in prison” on March 15, according to the district attorney’s office.

Entry #29

The Lottery Lawyer Won Their Trust, Then Lost Their Mega Millions

Jay Kurland built a practice giving legal and financial advice to jackpot winners. He’s now accused of fraud.

By the spring of 2020, the lottery lawyer wasn’t sure the walls were  necessarily  closing in. The FBI had started interviewing his insta-millionaire clients, though, and things didn’t look good. The jackpots several winners had entrusted him to invest seemed to be dwindling, and Jay Kurland wasn’t sure how much they blamed him.

Shortly before 9 a.m. on June 19, he hopped on the phone with his neighbor and business partner Francis Smookler, a tanned, easy-living ex-stockbroker. “My Staten Island clients are very concerned,” Kurland said, singling out one couple. “You know, the visits, combined with the lack of payments.”

“Do you think that that’s going to explode into some big thing?” Smookler asked.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-07-01/mega-millions-winners-lost-riches-after-using-lottery-lawyer

Entry #28

Some Mega Millions players claim prizes after host calls out wrong number

We all make  mistakes, but for a host of the Mega Millions lottery, it's a potentially costly one: Prize payments for some Mega Millions tickets have been temporarily suspended after host John Crow incorrectly read the Mega Ball number during Tuesday's lottery drawing.

The first five numbers were called correctly: 15, 19, 20, 61 and 70. But as the gold Mega Ball, was selected, the number 9 -- with a line drawn under it -- could be seen on the ball. Crow called it as 6, as seen in a video posted on the  Mega Millions YouTube channel.
The video featured an embedded caption explaining the mishap.
"The 9 ball was drawn in the chamber and is the official result," the caption states, adding the correct results have been audited by the accounting firm Preston CPA. "We apologize for the confusion."
Tuesday's estimated Mega Millions annuitized jackpot was $86 million, and there was no winning ticket. But there are five other prizes for having the correct Mega Ball number.
Mega Millions, except in California, pays $2 prizes for tickets where the holder matches only the gold ball number and $4 when the ticket has the gold ball and one other correct number (among the white balls). Matching two, three and four white balls and the gold balls also yield prizes of $10, $200 and $10,000, respectively.
But some people in New York who had the No. 6 Mega Ball were paid out, according to the lottery officials there.
"Due to human error relating to the May 10, 2022 Mega Millions draw, the New York Lottery paid a total of $5,538 to players who presented tickets with the incorrect winning number to retailers before approximately 10 a.m. on May 11," the organization said in a statement. "This payment was recouped automatically via a Lottery account for uncashed tickets. There is no impact on aid to education or taxpayer funds."
After a pause in payouts, New York Lottery officials said they have resumed Mega Millions prize disbursements at retailers.
"We will provide additional information as to when tickets may be cashed at New York Lottery Customer Service Centers and video lottery facilities," the organization said.
The estimated jackpot for Friday's Mega Millions drawing is $99 million (cash option of $57 million). Mega Millions tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands.
Entry #27

Woman accidentally throws her $110,000 winning lottery ticket in the trash

A Virginia woman turned her trash into treasure, literally, after she realized she threw away her winning $110,000 lottery ticket. 

Mary Elliot panicked after learning she matched all five numbers in the CASH 5 with EZ Match game but had thrown out her winning ticket,  the Virginia Lottery said in a press release last week. Thankfully, after digging through the garbage, she found it. 

When she took the ticket to claim her prize, she ran into another problem: The barcode wouldn't scan because of coffee stains. 

Luckily for Elliott, lottery officials were able to confirm her prize, and she walked away $110,000 richer. 

“When I saw I’d won, I couldn’t stop shaking to save my life!” she said, according to the release.

She bought the ticket in February at a Food Lion grocery story in Dillwyn, using numbers that were important birthdays.

The chances of matching all five numbers to win the $100,000 jackpot are 1 in 749,398, according to the release. 

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/04/04/virginia-woman-winning-lottery-ticket-trash/7268129001/

Entry #26

Man Wins $10 Million From Lottery Ticket For The Second Time In Three Years

AUniondale, New York, man recently won the top prize of $10 million from a New York lottery ticket, making it the second time he won $10 million from the lottery.

According to a press release  issued by New York Lottery, Juan Hernandez was the winner of the top prize from a New York Lottery $10,000,000 Deluxe scratch-off ticket. He previously won $10 million from a $350,000,000 Cash Spectacular scratch-off game in 2019.

He told officials he's "still trying to spend the $10,000,000," he won from his first major win.

The overall odds of winning a prize is one in 3.64 from a $10,000,000 Deluxe scratch-off. But the odds of winning $10,000,000 are even smaller. Only one in 3,521,600 are so lucky to win the top prize.

At press time, two prizes have been paid out, and three prizes remain in circulation.

Brad Maione, the director of communications for the New York State Gaming Commission, told  Newsweek  that even after all the top prizes have been claimed, tickets may still be sold.

Following the top prize, winners can win between $50 and $100,000 from the $30 scratch-off ticket.

Hernandez received his prize in a single lump-sum payment, which totaled $6,510,000 after the necessary withholdings.

The press release stated proceeds from the lottery go toward supporting education in New York State. In the fiscal year 2020/2021, $3.59 billion was collected and distributed among schools throughout the state.

"New York Lottery revenue is distributed to local school districts by the same statutory formula used to distribute other state aid to education,"  stated information  about this initiative on the lottery's website.

That formula measures a school district's size and the district's income level.

"Larger, lower-income school districts receive proportionately larger shares of Lottery school funding," the webpage explained.

Hernandez is not the only lucky lottery winner.

Newsweek  previously reported  that Gabriel Fierro, a 60-year-old disabled combat veteran from Cornelius, North Carolina, played the numbers from a fortune cookie he got while eating at a restaurant.

He told officials that although he doesn't typically play his fortune cookie numbers, he "tried them on a whim."

The next day, Fierro learned that all of his numbers matched and he won $4 million.

After tax withholdings, he took home $2,840,40.00 and said he planned to invest most of the winnings.

Mike "Lucky" Luciano won $1 million from a scratch-off ticket, making it the fourth time he hit the jackpot since 1999.

His previous prizes included winning $500,000 from the Pennsylvania state lottery, $3 million in 2016 and $100,000 in 1999, bringing his winnings to $4.6 million in total, as  Newsweek  reported.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/man-wins-10-million-from-lottery-ticket-for-the-second-time-in-three-years/ar-AAUjLWc?ocid=BingNews

Entry #25

She found a $3 million lottery prize in her spam folder

Your email spam folder isn't all junk mail.

Laura Spears of Oakland County, Michigan, can attest to that, as she recently discovered a $3 million lottery prize sitting in hers.
The lucky winner had purchased a Mega Millions ticket on the Michigan Lottery website for the December 31, 2021, drawing. She matched five numbers to win $1 million, plus had the Megaplier to multiply her prize by three.
"I saw an ad on Facebook that the Mega Millions jackpot was getting pretty high, so I got on my account and bought a ticket," Spears, 55, told  Michigan Lottery  officials. "A few days later, I was looking for a missing email from someone, so I checked the spam folder in my email account." "That's when I saw an email from the Lottery saying I had won a prize. I couldn't believe what I was reading, so I logged in to my Lottery account to confirm the message in the email. It's all still so shocking to me that I really won $3 million!"
https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/23/us/michigan-lottery-win-trnd/index.html
Entry #24

Glittery lottery ticket tempted NC newlywed. Jackpot win covers Florida honeymoon.

A glittery lottery ticket caught a North Carolina newlywed’s eye on a stop at a convenience store, NC lottery officials said. Michael Abernathy pulled out $30 for the Millionaire Maker scratch-off ticket, and it won him $30 back, so he bought two more, according to a lottery news release. He won nothing on the first ticket but scratched off a $1 million top-prize jackpot on the second one, officials said. The Lexington truck driver beat odds of 1 in 2.95 million, according to the lottery website. Four days after tying the knot, the 60-year-old Abernathy became the 20th million-dollar winner in the game, officials said. Ten top-prizes remain.“Phenomenal, the way this has all happened,” Abernathy said when he and his bride claimed the prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Thursday. “It’s amazing. It’s a blessing.” Abernathy bought the ticket on Wednesday at the Sheetz on South Main Street in Lexington. “I about passed out when I saw it was a million dollars,” he told officials. He could choose between an annuity of $50,000 a year for 20 years or a $600,000 lump sum. He netted $424,509 after taxes by choosing the lump sum, according to the lottery. Proceeds will cover the couple’s honeymoon in Florida next year, Abernathy said. He will pay off bills and save for retirement with the rest of his win, he said. “I’m 60 years old, so I’m going to put the rest up for security,” he said.

Read more at: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article254887382.html#storylink=cpy

Entry #23

North Carolina man wins three lottery jackpots at same store

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina man who bought scratch-off tickets from the same convenience store over four years is celebrating his third big prize, lottery officials said.

The N.C. Education Lottery says in a news release that Terry Splawn of Concord continued his run of good luck on Monday when his $20 ticket produced a $100,000 win. After state and federal taxes, Splawn took home close to $71,000, the news release said.

In April 2017, Splawn bought a ticket from Sam’s Mini Stop in Concord and won $1 million, according to the news release. Almost two years later, he went to the store again, bought another scratch-off ticket and won another million-dollar prize, lottery officials said.

“This is rare, but not impossibly rare,” said Jan Hannig, a UNC-Chapel Hill statistics professor, of the odds of the same person winning two $1 million lottery prizes. She made her comment to The Charlotte Observer.

Entry #22

Father and Sons Are Charged in $21 Million Lottery Fraud

Ali Jaafar and his sons Mohamed and Yousef cashed in more than 13,000 Massachusetts lottery tickets, prosecutors said, allowing the actual winners to potentially avoid paying taxes or child support.

No statistical model could explain it, and when a Massachusetts man and his two sons cashed in more than 13,000 winning lottery tickets worth nearly $21 million over eight years, federal prosecutors and lottery officials said it was anything but luck.

“A statistician will say that there’s some astronomical odd,” Michael R. Sweeney, the executive director of the Massachusetts State Lottery, said in an interview. “But the reality is, it’s zero.”

In a 19-page indictment that was unsealed on Monday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, Ali Jaafar and his sons Mohamed Jaafar and Yousef Jaafar were collectively charged with more than a dozen counts of fraud, money laundering and tax evasion for taking part in what the authorities say was a ticket-cashing scheme. A vast majority of the tickets were the scratch-off type that are typically sold at convenience stores, prosecutors said.

From 2011 to 2019, according to the indictment, the Jaafars claimed the prizes on behalf of the actual winners, who potentially avoided having their winnings garnished for unpaid taxes or child support, a requirement for any prize over $600 in Massachusetts.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/23/us/lottery-ticket-fraud.html

Entry #21

Massachusetts lottery: Man collects $1 million prize for the second time

Stephen C. Toto of Framingham, Massachusetts, made a last-minute decision to buy a lottery ticket, and for the second time in his life, collected a $1 million prize, according to the  Massachusetts State Lottery.

 

He bought the winning ticket at an A-1 Gulf gas station in Framingham for $30.

Toto chose the cash option and received $650,000 before taxes, according to the lottery.

The store will also reap the benefit: It will receive $10,000 for the sale of the winning ticket, according to the lottery.

The last time Toto won was in 2017, when he received a $1 million prize in the Massachusetts State Lottery's "$4,000,000 Payout" game, the lottery said.

Toto isn't the only Massachusetts resident to recently win the state lottery for the second time. Michael Rocca from Pittsfield won $1 million in the year 2000 and then again in May 2021, according to the Massachusetts State Lottery.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/massachusetts-lottery-man-collects-1-million-prize-for-the-second-time/ar-AALK2Bs?ocid=BingNews

Entry #20

Woman says $26M California lottery ticket destroyed in wash

The winner of a $26 million California Lottery prize may have literally washed the chance of a fortune down the drain.

The winning SuperLotto Plus ticket for the Nov. 14 drawing was sold at an Arco AM/PM convenience store in the Los Angeles suburb of Norwalk. Thursday was the last day to redeem it.

Nobody did.

Store employee Esperanza Hernandez told the Whittier Daily  News  that a woman came in Wednesday and told workers that she had put the ticket in her pants and it was destroyed in the laundry.

The store’s manager told  KTLA-TV  that surveillance video showed the woman who bought the ticket, and she's known to store workers.

A copy of the surveillance video was turned over to California Lottery officials, the manager said.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/woman-says-26m-california-lottery-ticket-destroyed-in-wash/ar-BB1gIq5J?ocid=BingNews

Entry #19

A man won $2 million from a scratch off lottery ticket after losing everything in a flood

A year after losing everything in a  flood, a Michigan man won $2 million from a scratch off  lottery  ticket, according to  lottery officials.

The 29-year-old man, who decided to stay anonymous, bought the ticket at a grocery store in Midland.
"Last year, I lost everything in a flood, so to win this prize is so overwhelming to me," he said, according to a news release from the lottery commission.
The man said he never played $20 tickets, but when he stopped to pick up some things on his way to get his kids, the Lucky 7's ticket caught his eye. He said seven is a lucky number for him.
"When I saw I had a match, I thought: 'Great, I won my money back!' When I saw I had actually won $2 million, I couldn't stop shaking."
Each Lucky 7's $20 ticket offers players a chance to win from $20 to $2 million. Four $2 million prizes remained as of Friday.
The man won $10,000 a few years ago and thought that was his once-in-a-lifetime shot. Now, he's $1.3 million richer, after opting to receive his winnings as a one-time lump sum. He plans to pay bills with the money and save the remainder.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/24/us/man-wins-2-million-dollars-lottery-flood-trnd/index.html
Entry #18

One ticket sold in Florida wins a $238 million Powerball jackpot

For the first time in two months, someone won the Powerball jackpot, selecting all six numbers to secure the $238 jackpot.

The ticket was bought in Lutz, Florida, which is just north of Tampa.
The  winning numbers  were 06-14-38-39-65-06 with a 3x Power Play.
Before Saturday night, the jackpot was last won on January 30, according to  CNN affiliate WFLA.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/28/us/powerball-winner-florida-trnd/index.html
Entry #17

A handshake is a handshake': Friends split $22M Powerball jackpot, honoring years-old agreement

When Tom Cook and Joe Feeney agreed to split their future lottery winnings years ago, the friends didn't think their handshake would mark a multimillion-dollar agreement.

But last month, Cook checked the numbers for his June 10 Powerball ticket and  discovered he had won $22 million. He didn't hesitate.

"A handshake is a handshake, man," Cook said of the arrangement in an interview with the Wisconsin Lottery. The Lottery confirmed Thursday that Cook and Feeney are splitting the prize.

Their pact is so old that Feeney couldn't remember exactly when it started. He guessed it dated back about 20 years. In a release, the Lottery traced the deal to 1992, when the lottery game was first offered in Wisconsin.

"We said whenever the big winner comes, we're going to split it, so we buy every week ... not really thinking it would happen," Feeney said.

The win came against steep odds: Currently, the chance of hitting the Powerball's grand prize is 1 in 292,201,338.

The pair laughed when Feeney recalled learning the news: "Are you jerking my bobber?" the avid fisherman said to Cook.

Cook and Feeney are taking a cash payout of $16.7 million, and each will get about $5.7 million after taxes, the Wisconsin Lottery says.

The two didn't report any particularly extravagant plans for spending the money to the Wisconsin Lottery. Cook quit his job and is planning to spend more time with family and travel stress-free. He's still playing the Powerball, he said.

Entry #16

Wife's birthday present to husband wins $350,000 lottery jackpot

June 3 (UPI) --  An Australian man's birthday turned out even happier than expected when a gift from his wife turned out to be a lottery ticket worth nearly $350,000.

The Bundaberg, Queensland, woman  told The Lott officials  that the Saturday Gold Lotto ticket she bought at Chippindalls Newsagency was a birthday present for her husband.

"I actually bought the ticket for my husband for his birthday," the woman said. "Turns out it was the best birthday present I've ever gotten him!"

The couple's ticket was one of 10 winning tickets to score a $347,862.34 Division One jackpot in Saturday's drawing.

"Our family has been through a tough time and this is going to help a heck of a lot," the woman said. "It really hasn't sunk in just yet, but I know we will really enjoy it. My husband and I are both retired so we have plenty of time to plan how we will enjoy it."

Entry #15
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