Arizona Lottery officials have tracked down the owner of a winning $1.4 million lottery ticket authorities said was fleeced by a convenience-store clerk.
Officials confirmed that Cuauhtémoc Jose Luis Castañeda-Yánez of Nogales, Sonora, purchased the Pick winning ticket for the June 25 drawing.
It's unclear when Castañeda-Yánez will receive the winnings, but the Attorney General's Office on Thursday submitted a forfeiture order in Maricopa County Superior Court to return the money to him.
Authorities had seized the $1.4 million in August when Delia Kerr, 50, and her sister, Susan Kerr, 41, both of Nogales, Ariz., were arrested on suspicion of theft and fraud.
Authorities say Castañeda-Yánez presented several tickets to Delia Kerr at a Circle K in Nogales for validation, but he alleged Kerr did not return one of them. A Circle K manager searched for the ticket but could not find it.
Days later, police said Delia Kerr and her sister opened a bank account in Tucson with an Arizona Lottery check for more than $1 million.
Lottery officials had been looking for the ticket's rightful owner since the arrests. Authorities said Castañeda-Yánez stepped forward. Officials used videotapes, computer data transactions and witness interviews to identify him.
Castañeda-Yánez could not be reached for comment, but his lawyer said he learned of the decision Thursday. "He already knew he was the winner; he was just waiting for a response from the government," attorney Saji Vettiyil said.
Lottery spokeswoman Kevan Kaighn said officials were "delighted the rightful winner has been found."
Greed rears its ugly head once again!
Once again, another case of where you should NEVER give your tickets to a retailer IF YOU HAVEN'T CHECKED THEM FIRST!!!!
Once again, another case of where you should NEVER give your tickets to a retailer IF YOU HAVEN'T CHECKED THEM FIRST!!!!
I'm very happy to see that computers are helping to reduce this type of stuff.
"He already knew he was the winner; he was just waiting for a response from the government,"
Then why did the state have to track him down? What Government was he waiting for? Where did the lawyer come from? Doesn't sound like this lawyer did a lot of checking on behalf of his client, until some one told him there was money involved.
When you steal lottery winning, leave the country. If you deposit the money, they will catch you.
Hi! I really appreciate some duty people always seek the truth then bring the fairness back to suffering ones!
It's too bad that people can't check their own tickets carefully. If they could these kind of crimes wouldn't happen.
"He already knew he was the winner; he was just waiting for a response from the government,"
Then why did the state have to track him down? What Government was he waiting for? Where did the lawyer come from? Doesn't sound like this lawyer did a lot of checking on behalf of his client, until some one told him there was money involved.
When you steal lottery winning, leave the country. If you deposit the money, they will catch you.
Chewie: Nogales is in Mexico. The man purchased the ticket in Arizona and he was likely from Mexico. The government he was waiting on was the US. The victim had apparently consulted an attorney and the attorney seems to have had trouble keeping tabs on his client as well, which is not so unusual when you are speaking of people crossing into the US. I would imagine the lawyer knew money was nvolved from the start, otherwise why would he need to assist his client in getting what was rightfully his?
Tell ya what, you tell a lawyer in NYC you have a claim for a million plus and he would be beating down doors and filing lawsuits left and right. They do this for a living. And there are plenty of non-english speaking people in this area that know how to milk the system. Word would spread faster then the results of a taco.
BTW, you wait for you government to take action, and you have the initiative of a turtle. They're still passing out medals from WWII and Viet Nam. Just now getting the paperwork finished!
Tell ya what, you tell a lawyer in NYC you have a claim for a million plus and he would be beating down doors and filing lawsuits left and right. They do this for a living. And there are plenty of non-english speaking people in this area that know how to milk the system. Word would spread faster then the results of a taco.
BTW, you wait for you government to take action, and you have the initiative of a turtle. They're still passing out medals from WWII and Viet Nam. Just now getting the paperwork finished!
Chewie your comments are nothing more than bigotry. Nowhere in the article does it appear this man was milking the system. I happen to be a lawyer, and I take exception to your implication that all lawyers are without merit in their work for clients. Believe it or not, lawyers have to eat and pay bills too. Just as teachers, laborers, and any other profession. Stereotyping lawyers, and the remark about the taco is shameful.
Please tell me what you do for a living. I'm sure I can find some nasty comments to make about your job. I'm also foreign, and I speak fairly good english, after years of struggling to learn it after realizing the US was where I wanted to be. In the years I have lived here, I have never encountered an American that discriminated against me because of my speech, or accuse me of milking the system to survive.
why do people steal. someone please tell me. well i hope they bury them under it for stealing from this man.
People have been stealing since the dawn of man. That's life. Hopefully though, the theives will be prosecuted.
People have been stealing since the dawn of man. That's life. Hopefully though, the theives will be prosecuted.
My ex-girlfriend's family stole from me in the mid-to-late 1990s. I work with her son at my job, but I avoid him.
People have been stealing since the dawn of man. That's life. Hopefully though, the theives will be prosecuted.
My ex-girlfriend's family stole from me in the mid-to-late 1990s. I work with her son at my job, but I avoid him.
Did you call the police on them?
People have been stealing since the dawn of man. That's life. Hopefully though, the theives will be prosecuted.
My ex-girlfriend's family stole from me in the mid-to-late 1990s. I work with her son at my job, but I avoid him.
Did you call the police on them?
Statute of limitations has probably kick in by now. Bellyache, you must be a very forgiving person.