In Texas, a convenience store clerk apparently stole a winning lottery ticket and took off with the cash. 25 year old Pankaj Joshi, who had been working at the convenience store for 5 years, allegedly pocketed the ticket when 67 year old Willis Willis asked Joshi to check his lottery ticket in May.
Joshi apparently told May that the ticket had won only $2, then pocketed the winning ticket and claimed the prize, reportedly worth multi-millions (approximately $750,000 after taxes).
Authorities say that Joshi had the money wired directly to a bank account, and disappeared.
The incident was discovered after Nick Parveez, Joshi's former manager at Lucky's Food Store in Grand Prairie, near Dallas, called the lottery commission in July. His suspicions were aroused after he learned that his store had sold a $1 million dollar ticket. Sales of winning tickets are reported to stores so they can advertise the success to other store customers, and because winning tickets do pay a fee to the store.
Joshi was a student at the University of Texas at Arlington. He was charged with one count of lottery fraud in September and could face up to 20 years in prison.
Joshi apparently deposited the money to various bank accounts. The authorities have recovered $365,000 from one of his bank accounts so far. It is not yet decided if the money will be returned to Willis if it's proven in court to be his money.
Willis had taken the winning ticket to the convenience store to be checked because he could not find the winning numbers on TV or in the papers.
Lottery officials say that to protect yourself from ticket theft, sign the back of your ticket when you purchase it. Signed tickets cannot be claimed by anyone other than the person who signed them.
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Cops: Store clerk ran off with $1M lottery ticket
Photo credit - Sign your lottery ticket
Written by Shelby Bateson
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