GRAND PRAIRIE, Tx. — Willis Willis has an idea how he can get his money back from the store clerk who authorities say stole his $1 million winning lottery ticket.
"Just get me in a room with him for two minutes," says the 67-year-old Navy veteran.
Willis was back home in Grand Prairie on Tuesday after a meeting with Texas Lottery Commission officials Monday in Austin in which his attorneys tried unsuccessfully to collect the winnings.
It was a meeting that only seemed to add confusion and frustration to the already bizarre case.
Commission officials told Willis that they consider the store clerk, Pankaj Joshi, the rightful winner because Joshi signed and redeemed the ticket as required, Willis' attorney said.
Joshi was indicted in Travis County on charges of claiming a lottery prize by fraud. Prosecutors there say Willis is the winner and hope to return to him about $365,000 they have seized from Joshi's bank accounts.
A spokesman said the Lottery Commission does not comment on pending legal claims.
Willis' attorney, Sean E. Breen, said Tuesday: "I think the Lottery Commission is more concerned with covering their own behinds than making sure Mr. Willis gets the money. We will move forward with all legal remedies."
Willis, who has played the same Mega Millions numbers for years, bought the winning ticket May 29 at the Lucky Food Store at 902 Great Southwest Parkway in Grand Prairie, authorities said.
Willis returned to the Lucky Food Store on May 31 to have the Mega Millions ticket and two Cash 5 tickets scanned, because he had not been able to locate the winning numbers.
Joshi scanned the tickets — the Mega Millions ticket was a $1 million winner — but gave Willis only $2 for one of the Cash 5 tickets, authorities said.
Joshi later went to Austin and cashed in the Mega Millions ticket, receiving $750,000 after taxes, a search warrant affidavit said. Joshi, a former student at the University of Texas at Arlington, is believed to have gone back to his native Nepal, authorities said.
The case is starting to draw national media attention. Dateline NBC interviewed Willis on Tuesday. Afterward, he met with local reporters at the Grand Prairie Moose Lodge, where he is a member.
In a denim shirt and a U.S. Navy cap pulled over his graying hair, Willis sat in the lodge's bingo hall and said the episode has left him feeling violated. But he was trying to keep things in perspective.
"I didn't have the money at first; I still don't have the money now," he said. "I definitely want it.... If I don't get it, I'm not going to cry about it."
Willis said he was hardly looking to go on a spending spree. The former apartment maintenance worker said he has medical bills, a daughter entering college who could use help with tuition and a tooth that badly needs a root canal.
"Those are the priorities in my life," he said.
Willis said he did not know Joshi well, although he had seen him behind the counter. Willis visited the store often and knew the manager and assistant manager by name. He cashed payroll checks there, and when he asked store clerks to check his lottery tickets in the past, they told him when he won $5 or $10 prizes. He said he was unaware he could check the winning numbers online.
"I always got my money, no questions asked," he said. "There was a trust."
Willis seems likely to get at least the $365,000 seized by Travis County prosecutors. Assistant prosecutor Patty Robertson said Tuesday that the Lottery Commission's view that Joshi is the winner does not affect the allegation that he committed fraud to win it.
"I don't believe the Lottery Commission is trying to claim ownership of the seized funds," she said. "We will be asking the court to return the funds to Mr. Willis."
As Willis spoke to reporters at the Moose Lodge, his friends stood in the next room and watched. They said they are astounded at the twists and turns in Willis' efforts to get his jackpot.
"We are real happy for him that he won," lodge member John Sauber said. "We sure hope someone sets it right for him."
Willis told reporters that he is willing to be patient. If it takes a year, he won't give up, he said.
He also won't stop playing the lottery. In fact, he bought five Mega Millions tickets Tuesday, he said.
"See if I can pull one more rabbit out of a hat," he said.
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I hope Willis Willis doesn't end up like other similar victims I read about a few years back who eventually owed their lawyer more money than they ended up getting.
I never see anything that even remotely hits home...yet I live off of Great Southwest Parkway in Grand Prairie...I live literally 3/4 mile from that store...I NEED TO PAY IT A VISIT!!
I have always felt the Tx Lottery Comm was very honest and transparent, but this really disappoints me. It seems they don't care who the rightful owner is.
Why has Willis not filed a police report for stolen property against the guy? Then it becomes a matter of police investigation for grand theft.
An unsigned ticket is still your property when it is your possession even though he had the clerk scan it. When you go to the clerk and hand the clerk cash for a purchase you expect your change back.
It's apparent that the TLC is taking the tack of not setting a precedent to avoid facing problems like this in the future.
I think they would be wiser to just give the man his money for the sake of public relations and credibility if nothing else.
It's called doing the right thing.
If you could get people together and boycott the lottery, I bet they'd give him the money right away.
Agree with JAP, he should have filed a police report already.
I'm missing one thing in this story .... what proof does Mr. Willis have that the ticket belonged to him? Did either article state that Mr. Willis had played the same numbers over and over, therefore had non-winning tickets to back up his claims? Or did it mention that Mr. Willis had a copy of the ticket?
Still seems to come down to one basic thing, check your tickets yourself .. always .... and don't let it leave your hands until you turn it in at the lottery office.
The Lottery already paid the prize to the crook. A lottery ticket is a bearers instrument. Sign your ticket before handing it over to someone you don't know.
While it's a shame, the Lottery has no legal recourse. Someone claimed the ticket. It's up to us individually to protect ourselves from unscrupulous people.
Captain Lotto is right - there are good reasons why the procedures are set up the way they are. The Lottery will never win getting in the middle of "who gave the ticket to who, who really owns it", etc. Their job is to validate the ticket that is presented to make sure that it is indeed the winning ticket and then to pay the prize promptly. C'mon kids, we have to take a little responsibility for ourselves.
You have to have the ticket (in almost all cases - not a copy). You have to sign it (that makes it yours).
Here's an extra clue...if the machine makes an audible tone and/or especially if the printer starts printing - you won something on (at least on a GTECH system). Ask to see the printed winner receipt.
On a claim (over $599) , it will say to go claim your prize - on really big win, it won't show the amount (which will tell you the ticket is worth even more). Sign it right away when you buy it - and certainly before you hand it to anyone.
I've just never understood how someone could just hand a ticket over to someone else, that they don't know...when it could possibly be worth big money ?? Too many people out there waiting to scam you !
Open a can of whoop ass ole boy!
This type of crime could be stopped if lottery commissions were serious about stopping it.
In Ohio, some stores return tickets to their customers after they are checked even if a prize is won and paid. The clerks in these stores just keep the receipt for their records while other stores keep both tickets and receipts. If lottery commissions established a policy that required all stores to return all tickets to their customers after checking them then this would never happen.
I like the lottery machines in Connecticut. They scan the ticket and a voice says "congratulations you won $24.00".
then there is no confusion!!!
Okay to those who gleen the news information.
Joshi WAS CONVICTED . That means He was found guilty of the charge of fraud.Which equates to the judicial system had enough evidence to find guilt.ALong with a warrant. So stop it with the Lottery isnt involved, even the judicial system agrees that fraud transpired. THe Lottery had to at some point fork over the information to the judicial system to get the conviction. It wasnt just heresay folks!
The reality is The rightful purchaser of the ticket was defrauded by the cashier. He is now having to be caught up in litigation to get what was rightfully his from the get go.
I am rooting for victory for this man and redeemption for his delay in FULL payment!
"Joshi WAS CONVICTED . That means He was found guilty of the charge of fraud."
No, Pankaj Joshi was only indicted, not convicted. First he must be found, then extradited, then tried, then convicted. Each of these steps will take months. Extradition alone, if Joshi fights it, could take months. In addition, during each of these steps, Joshi's lawyer will cost money, lots of money, lots and lots. Guess where Joshi will draw this money from? Yes, that's right. You guessed it. He will draw it from "his" lotto winnings. By the time Joshi is finally convicted, there will be nothing left of the money he absconded with.
Texan,
before you go over there, you should know that it was the store manager who first alerted the Lottery officials. The initial story was covered on LotteryPost. However, as LotteryPost reported, for some reason the manager waited a month after Joshi left for Nepal before reporting it. Why the manager did not report Joshi when he was first suspicious I don't know. The manager became suspicious after Joshi gave his 2 weeks notice.
Mr. Willis, Here is a thought....... it's called......."BOUNTY HUNTER"
Thank you Cal-Lotto for correcting my previous post on the terminology of indictment verses conviction.
As mad as this makes me, the Lottery is under no legal obligation to pay Willis. If they pay him it's solely out of altruism. Then THEY (as a state entity) could go after Jogi and seek extradition.
The case in Florida is another story. This past August, Louis Tolentino scratched himself a $500,000 winner, and put it in his back pocket UNSIGNED. When he got home it was gone. The difference here is that the Lottery has a clerk who's a witness and a printed confirmation ticket that confirms he bought it. They absolutely should pay him!
When I worked at a convience store we were not allowed to buy lottery tickets at the store we worked at. So if the lottery officials go by thier own rules then the ticket does not belong to the store clerk. Also if the gentlemen who bought the ticket can show he bought that number for years they should realize it is his ticket. Don't know if the store clerk owns the store or not but they get a percentage for selling the winning lottery ticket. If they can't get the money back from him, everyone should boycott buying tickets at that store. They will lose money. They get money for every ticket they sell and a percentage of every winning ticket including scratch offs.
The sad truth is that this man is gone and he will never be seen again. This man has destroyed the true winner's life now and is laughing. He is telling all his friends how stupid Americans are. I hope this effects some changes. Maybe the US government will have this guy brought back. In Russia, the people who steal from Americans are heros. Food for thought.
That might not be true. It all depends if Nepal has an extradition treaty with the USA and if Nepal enforces it. As for Russia, you're right. In certain towns, people who steal from US citizens are considered heroes.
It almost certainly wasn't a rule of the lottery that prevented you from buying tickets where you worked. Perhaps some state lottery prohibits it, but the vast majority of states apparently do not. Within reason, a store is certainly free to make their own rules on many things their employees can't do. Many people think that store clerks have an unfair advantage, so perhaps management at your store decided to prohibit employees from playing there.
As pointed out by others, lottery tickets are bearer instruments, so there is a presumption that the person in possession of a ticket is the owner of the ticket. As near as we can tell from th einformation available, the lottery appears to have paid the prize in good faith. If so, the only way for th elotteyr to be held liable for making payment to Wilis is if the store is a legal agent of the lottery, thus making the lottery liable for malfeasance by the store or its employee(s). Despite people sometimes referring to lottery retailers as agents, it's extremely unlikely that the retailer is legally an agent of the lottery.
I did say "maybe", didn't I? Stealing money is a "small" crime compared with terrorism, drug dealing and fraud to the tune of untold millions and many suffering individuals. This man's loss is not small. I would love to see justice. It's too bad this man is so far away. I'm afraid that justice is dead for most people.
Correct me if I am wrong but in the first story didn't Mr. Willis give a long list of excuses about why he did not check his ticket himself? Now in this story:
"Willis returned to the Lucky Food Store on May 31 to have the Mega Millions ticket and two Cash 5 tickets scanned, because he had not been able to locate the winning numbers."
This is B.S. there was a scanner attached to the counter where all he had to do is scan his own tickets to see if they won. Also all he had to do is pick up a result slip from any place that sells lottery tickets. You can't swing a cat here in TX without hitting a lottery retailer. Also since you pretty much have to have cable in order to watch tv these days, Mr Willis could've gotten the results on cable channel 38 TXCN where the lottery results are displayed across the bottom of the screen 24/7.
I mean really give me a break. All this could've been prevented had Mr. Willis signed his ticket. Do I feel sorry for Mr. Willis? No not at all. Accountability is the key in this story. The only reason all of this was able to happen is because Mr. Willis did not do what he was supposed to do.
1. Sign his ticket.
2. Check his own ticket.
The TX Lottery Commission is not obligated to give Mr. Willis anything because he did not do what he was supposed to do, sign the g.d. ticket. Read anything printed by the lottery commission and you will see
"Sign ticket before claiming. Anyone who possesses an unsigned ticket may be able to claim a prize. The Tx Lottery is not responsible for lost or stolen tickets or for tickets lost in the mail."
Read the back of all the TX Lottery play slips. You want to know how to prevent this in the future? It's easy just "SIGN YOUR TICKET"
Well said
The story indicates the real winner will get $365,000 of his money. I wouldn't call that a "destroyed" life. Better than most scam victims recover.
Besides, if the store owner had said nothing, he wouldn't had known he lost out on collecting a million dollars. Every years I hear of prizes that size going unclaimed and the persons who either lost their tickets or just didn't get around to checking it aren't any worst off as far as they know.
Very true. Just the other day TX was able to put $7 million into the kitty because of an expired MegaMillion ticket.
PERDUE..You made the best point in bold letters..I knew that in 1988 when I started buying lotto tickets..SIGN THE BACK..Simple as that..Put it your fridge or a bank vault till you go cash it..If's it millions sleep with it..
The lottery commission owes Willis nothing.They paid out in good faith to Pankaj Joshi who signed it.The law is the law.I feel for Willis but that's the way it is.Let it be a lesson to all.Sign your lottery tickets !!!.
There once was a man from Grand Prairie
Who was blessed by the Lottery Fairy
He gave his ticket to Joshi
And then oh by gosh he
Wound up with no money to carry
(sorry)