A New York man won $ 1 million on a New York lottery ticket and asked his cousin to trade it for him, but prosecutors say she lied to him and gave him false documentation to keep the money.
Iris Amador Argueta, 32, of Houston, was arrested Monday and indicted Tuesday for felony grand theft and possession of forged documents.
It all started a year ago, the Nassau County prosecutor’s office said, when Argueta’s anonymous cousin bought a scratch-off ticket. “Hold ‘Em Poker“$ 5 at a Glen Cove convenience store. The ticket was a winner: the $ 1 million jackpot.
The winner wanted to remain anonymous so he asked his cousin Argueta to exchange his ticket in exchange for $ 50,000. She agreed and mailed the winning ticket.
But a few weeks later, he showed up at his cousin’s house with allegedly forged New York Lottery paperwork, “showing” that he had only won $ 20,000. She gave him just over $ 13,000 in cash and said the state took the rest in taxes.
There was a problem with the plan, the district attorney’s office said: The state lottery issued a press release saying that Argueta had claimed the prize, which had an after-tax balloon payment of $ 537,440.
When the victim found out and contacted Argueta, she denied having the money and threatened her cousin with legal consequences if he continued to contact her.
Police and prosecutors say they have recovered nearly $ 318,000 of the money from Argueta’s bank account.
– .
