A Texas woman pleaded guilty last week as she admitted to stealing a $1 million dollar “scratch off” ticket from a relative. She claimed a lump-sum payout of more than $500,000 in November 2020.
According to Nassau District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly, 34-year old Iris Amador Argueta of Houston, Texas, pleaded guilty before Judge Howard Sturim to one count of grand larceny in the second degree.
She will likely be sentenced to between one and four years in prison for the category C felony. Argueta forfeited over $300,000 in winnings from her bank account in May 2022. The amount was returned to the victim, who is Argueta’s cousin. The sentencing will take place on March 15, 2023.
“This defendant thought she hit the jackpot when she passed off her cousin’s $1 million winning ‘scratch-off’ ticket as her own and claimed a lump sum payout of more than $500,000. But her greedy actions also spelled the end of her luck, and now she will serve time in prison for her crime,” said DA Donnelly in an official press release.
According to Detective Lieutenant John Nagle of the Glen Cove Police Department, N.Y., when the crime was first reported by the victim it seemed unbelievable that a family member could be deceitful to this extent.
“When the collaborative effort between the Glen Cove Detective Division and the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office proved the victim’s allegations to be true, the defendant was arrested, and a majority of the $537,440 lump sum prize money was located and returned to the victim. The worst part of the crime was the fact that it was perpetrated by the victim’s own cousin,” he added.
A joint investigation by the Glen Cove Police Department and NCDA, revealed that the victim bought a New York State Lottery $5 Hold ‘Em Poker “scratch-off” ticket at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Glen Cove on October 28, 2020. Upon scratching the ticket, it showed he had won the $1,000,000 jackpot, reported Fox News.
Argueta was asked to claim the prize on the victim’s behalf, due to his wanting to remain anonymous. She was promised $50,000 in exchange for claiming the prize, to which she agreed, according to the press release.
The defendant drove from her residence in Virginia, where she lived at the time, to New York. There she was given the winning ticket by the victim. COVID-19 restrictions, however, meant that the NYS Gaming Commission was not accepting winning tickets in person. Argueta therefore mailed the ticket instead on Nov. 13, 2020.
After several weeks, she turned up at her cousin’s home to present him with documentation, allegedly from the New York State Lottery, which showed a far smaller prize amount of only $20,000. Argueta then gave the victim an envelope containing $13,436 in cash, claiming the difference was kept for taxes.
A press release on the NYS Lottery website later revealed, however, that Argueta had indeed claimed the $1,000,000 prize from the victim’s winning ticket. She received a total payout of $537,440 after taxes, the investigation uncovered.
The victim contacted Argueta immediately after learning of the press release. Argueta was adamant that she wouldn’t pay any additional monies to her cousin. She then threatened him with legal action, should he persist in contacting her.
Upon conclusion of the investigation it was confirmed that Argueta was paid the lump-sum prize of $537,440 from the NYS Gaming Commission.
The main prosecutor on the case is Deputy Bureau Chief Betty Rodriguez of the Financial Crimes Bureau. The defense representative is Lauriano Guzman, Esq. The Nassau County District Attorney wishes to express gratitude to Glen Cove Police Department for helping with the investigation.
