POMONA, Calif. (AP) A jury recommended Tuesday that a former
convenience store clerk should receive $8 million because her boss
allegedly cheated her out of a winning lottery ticket worth
millions, attorneys said.
Arwa Farraj was given about $3.98 million for the value of the
ticket and $3.98 million for emotional distress in the verdict
against the Circle K store chain and her former boss, Gurinder
Ruby. The value of the ticket was based on the actual amount before
taxes plus accruing interest, attorneys said.
Jurors deliberated for a day after the trial, which began Sept.
17 in Superior Court, and found the defendants liable for fraud and
conversion.
``I am grateful to the jury for seeing the truth and for
declaring me the rightful owner of the winning lottery ticket,''
said Farraj, a Jordanian who immigrated to the United States in
1992, in a statement issued by her attorneys. ``As a newcomer to
the United States, I really have faith in how the American justice
system works.''
Farraj claimed she bought a Quick Pick California SuperLotto
ticket on Christmas Day in 1999 while working as a clerk at a La
Verne store.
Ruby allegedly tricked her into believing the ticket was worth
$88 instead of $8 million, then cashed it in and received about
$2.56 million after taxes, Farraj's attorneys said. Circle K
received a $40,000 commission for being the winning store, her
lawyers said.
Calls to attorneys representing Ruby and Circle K were not
immediately returned Tuesday night.
Pierce O'Donnell, representing Circle K Stores, Inc., said
previously his client ``is not responsible for this alleged
theft.''
Ruby's attorney, Stanford Horn, had maintained the jackpot
belongs to his client.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)