Sep. 18, 2010 (United Press International) -- A clerk at a Queens deli tried to cheat an elderly lottery winner out of a $14 million ticket, a New York Lottery official said Friday.
Milledge McCassell, 72, a retired transit worker, bought his tickets at the Dynasty Deli and Grocery in Jamaica on Aug. 26, the New York Daily News reported.
When he scanned them at a self-service station, the screen flashed "big winner," but the clerk gave him only "a few dollars," claiming he did not have a jackpot ticket, said lottery spokeswoman Carolyn Hapeman.
McCassell filed a complaint with the lottery, which sent investigators to the deli to question the clerk and review electronic data on its machines. Suddenly, the clerk produced the winning ticket.
McCassell took an $8.7 million lump-sum payout.
Queens prosecutors are investigating the case, which deli owner Taha Al Saidi dismissed as a misunderstanding.
"We're not cheats," he told the Daily News. "It didn't happen the way they're saying it happened, but the clerk) no longer works here."
Lottery officials removed all machines from the deli and banned it from selling tickets.