Woman Who Stole $1M Glen Cove Lotto Ticket From Cousin Pleads Guilty

GLEN COVE, NY — A Texas woman who tricked a Long Island cousin into thinking his $1 million scratch-off lottery ticket was only worth $20,000, then claimed the lump sum payment, pleaded guilty to felony larceny last week, the Nassau County district attorney's office said.

Iris Amador Argueta claimed the $5 Hold 'Em Poker ticket, purchased at a Glen Cove 7-Eleven in October 2020, to help her cousin remain anonymous. But then she told her cousin that the prize money was only $20,000, and showed him fake paperwork from the New York State Lottery, Nassau prosecutors said.

"When the victim initially reported that his cousin had stolen his $1 million scratch-off ticket, it seemed farfetched that a relative could be so deceitful," Glen Cove Police Department Detective John Nagle said.

A joint investigation by Glen Cove police and Nassau County revealed that Argueta, 34, claimed a lump-sum payment of over $537,440 from the state Gaming Commission.

On Friday, she pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny and is expected to receive between one and four years of prison time, prosecutors said.

In May 2022, the Houston, Texas, woman forfeited nearly $318,000 in winnings from her bank account, which were returned to the Long Island victim.

"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," Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.

“But her greedy actions also spelled the end of her luck, and now she will serve time in prison for her crime.”

The Long Island victim initially offered Argueta $50,000 to claim the prize because he wanted to maintain anonymity. After telling the victim that the prize was only $20,000, she gave him what she said was the lump-sum of $13,436 in cash.

The victim then saw Argueta on a press release from the New York Lottery, which said she had claimed the $1 million prize, and walked away with an over-$500,000 payout.

"The worst part of the crime was the fact that it was perpetrated by the victim’s own cousin," Nagle said.