- What item worth $1M did a woman in Texas plead guilty to stealing? She took a lottery ticket from her cousin in New York and demanded over $500,000 in a lump-sum payment.
- Scratching the ticket, he discovered it was worth $1,000,000. He got in touch with Argueta and proposed that she claim the prize on his behalf in exchange for $50,000.
- She came back to her cousin’s place with documents claiming that the prize amount was only $20,000, supposedly from the lottery commission.
- Argueta is set to be sentenced on March 15, 2023, to a prison term of 1-1/3 years to 4 years.
What did a woman in Texas plead guilty to stealing, worth $1M? Well, she took a lottery ticket from her cousin in New York and demanded more than $500,000 in a lump-sum payment.
Iris Amador Argueta, a 34-year-old woman from Houston, has pleaded guilty to grand theft after stealing a $1 million lottery prize.
The winner, who preferred to remain anonymous, secured the prize after purchasing a New York State Lottery $5 Hold ‘Em Poker scratch-off ticket at a 7-Eleven in Glen Cove.
He scratched the ticket and found out it was worth $1,000,000. He contacted Argueta and asked her to claim the prize on his behalf in exchange for $50,000.
Argueta drove from her home in Virginia to New York and took the winning ticket from her cousin. The Nassau County District attorney is handling the case.
Due to COVID-19 precautions, the New York State Gaming Commission was not accepting winning lottery tickets in person.
As a result, Argueta mailed the winning ticket to the commission. However, weeks later, she returned to her cousin’s home with paperwork that she claimed was from the lottery commission, stating that the prize amount was only $20,000.
She also gave her cousin an envelope containing $13,436 and claimed that the rest of the money had been kept for taxes.
The New York State Lottery later issued a press release announcing that Argueta had claimed the $1 million prize and had received a lump-sum payout of $537,440 after taxes.
After discovering the press release, the victim contacted his cousin, who denied having any additional money for him and warned him of legal consequences if he continued to reach out.
An investigation carried out by Glen Cove Police Department, and the Nassau County District Attorney’s office found that Argueta had indeed received the lump-sum prize.
“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.”
Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly
As a result, Argueta had to forfeit $317,857.13 in winnings from her bank account, which were returned to the victim. She’s expected to be sentenced on March 15, 2023, to a prison term of 1-1/3 years to 4 years.
