Woman arrested for stealing cousin’s €872k scratch card

Woman arrested for stealing cousin’s €872k scratch card after she was asked to cash it in.

A 32-YEAR-OLD woman has been arrested in New York State for stealing her cousin’s $1 million (€871,835k) scratch card winnings after he asked her to cash it in.

According to prosecutors on Tuesday, November 9, Iris Amador Argueta tried to throw her cousin off the scent by forging lottery documents and transferring a small amount of the jackpot to him in Long Island, New York, something she is also accused of.

NBC New York says the winner bought a $5 New York State ‘Hold ‘Em Poker’ scratch card at a 7-Eleven store in Glen Cove in October but wanted to stay anonymous so asked Ms Argueta to claim his winnings on his behalf for a fee of $50,000 (€43,591).

Ms Argueta, who could face up to 15 years in prison for her crimes, drove to New York State to collect the ticket then, due to Covid-19 restrictions, mailed it to the lottery company before sending her cousin a fake document from the lottery company along with $13,436 (€11,713) in cash – claiming New York State withheld the rest for taxes.

Prosecutors are also accusing the woman, from Houston, Texas, of receiving a $537,440 (€537,440) lump sum after the New York authorities issued a statement championing the man’s jackpot win.

Acting District Attorney Joyce Smith said: “This defendant exploited her cousin’s trust, allegedly lying and manipulating him with the aim of pocketing the lion’s share of his USD 1 million winning lottery ticket for herself.

“Thanks to a great working partnership with the Glen Cove Police Department, we’ve recovered more than $300,000 in allegedly stolen funds and will vigorously prosecute this case.”

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