Police: NY deli owners stole $1M lottery ticket

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) - A Long Island deli owner and his son were charged Saturday with scamming a customer out of a $1 million lottery ticket.

In this combination of two undated photos provided by the Nassau County Police Department in Mineola, N.Y., Karim Jaghab, left, and his father, Nabil Jaghab are shown. Police on Long Island say a deli owner and his son are under arrest for scamming a customer out of a $1 million lottery ticket. When a patron purchased and scratched off the winning ticket at the pair's deli on Thursday, Nov. 21, then handed the winning ticket over to Karim, he was given $1 thousand. The following day the customer went back and spoke to Nabil, who told him the $1 million ticket was worth $10 thousand. The Jaghabs were arraigned Saturday, Nov. 23, on grand larceny charges. (AP Photo/Nassau County Police Department)

Nassau County police say a 34-year-old man who doesn't speak English bought the ticket Thursday at the Peninsula Deli & Grocery in Hempstead.

The man scratched off his card, saw that he was a winner and handed it to 26-year-old Karim Jaghab to get his winnings, police said.

The ticket was worth $1 million, but Jaghab gave the man $1,000 in cash and kept the ticket, police said.

The customer became suspicious and went back Friday, police said. They say Jaghab and his 57-year-old father, Nabil Jaghab, the owner of the deli, tried to give him $10,000 and told him not to go to the police, authorities said.

The customer went to police, who determined that he had won the $1 million jackpot.

The Jaghabs, of East Meadow, were arraigned Saturday on grand larceny charges. Each was ordered held on $7,500 bond. According to Newsday, their attorney said it was a simple mistake on a payout on a lottery machine.