| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
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.