Police: Texas Man Stole $1M Lottery Prize

Store Clerk Accused of Taking Customer's Winnings to Native Nepal

(AP)  Authorities say a 25-year-old Texas convenience store clerk claimed $1 million in lottery winnings that belonged to a customer and left town, perhaps back to his native Nepal.

Pankaj Joshi was indicted in September on one count of claiming a lottery prize by fraud. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison. The indictment was unsealed this month.

Investigators say they believe a customer at the Lucky Food Store near Dallas asked Joshi in May to check his tickets for winning numbers and that Joshi pocketed the $1 million ticket.

Investigators say Joshi claimed his $750,000 after-tax prize in Austin and disappeared. His co-workers told authorities they were suspicious because they never saw Joshi play the lottery.

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[DaVicar8]

Looks like "Joshi" translates to "Earl" in Sherpa. Kharma got him!

[Ms_enza]

Hey! In America, the SINGLE best way to move from the lower income stratas to the top 5% is through a lottery.

If your income is less than $60,000/year your highest probabilty of reaching the $1,000,000 asset mark is through a lottery ticket.

[winstrv]

What a moron!!! A fool and his money are soon parted comes to mind. I play the lottery and always know if my ticket is a winner or not.

[bubbadubba]

I always wondered if that would happen, now I know.
ALWAYS write your name and address on the back of the ticket as it tells you to.
ALWAYS.
Trust no one.

[Ms_enza]

Or, check the numbers yourself...

[timdgrim]

The Texas Lottery has ticket check devices in stores that sell tickets. All a person has to do is take the ticket and scan the bar code themselves. There is no need to give it over to Haji to check.

[lorajeantn]

Did you say "Haji"? Really? How ignorant. Racist much?

[TheVarsityClub]

I saw an "undercover report" on this subject and the devices you speak of sometimes only tell you that you've won on the screen and doesn't post the amount. A gentleman scanned his ticket, the device informed him that he had won and to see clerk. The clerk scanned the ticket told the gentleman that he won $25 when actually he had won $25,000.

[wyodutch]

Yeah... but it's faster to have Haji do it.

[Treadlightly2]

He never went back to Nepal. I sold him a new BMW just yesterday...Nice guy, tipped me $1000,00..

[cbsblogger]

If an individual is that lazy and so stupid as to hand over their ticket to a store clerk so as to check if they have winning numbers they deserve to be defrauded.

Look the numbers up yourself and mark your ticket so that you know or think if you have a winner and so that you know if the ticket that the clerk hands back is yours. Also never trust the clerk to just throw it away as an alleged loser. Always get it back and check it.

[Ms_enza]

Blind? Maybe?

[stn_sage]

This shouldn't be a problem! We should have an extradition treaty with Nepal. And FBI in almost all countries of the world...for whatever reason.

They should be able to track him down and bring him back. It's a chance to do something useful for a change!

[stuart-johns2]

Now stn_sage. You know that the FBI have been doing plenty of good. How many terror plots have they intercepted this summer alone? You know the answer. That was'nt a fair statement you maid.

[kristie88]

Awesome. I'm putting in applications for 7-11 right now.

[TyroneHoglegg]

LOL...there's gold in them thar slushies!