Arab Deli Owners Caught Trying to Scam Customer Out of a Million Dollar Lottery Ticket

New York Post
November 24, 2013

Nabal and Karim Jaghab: Who could have guessed that such honest, ratlike faces could hide extreme criminality?
Nabal and Karim Jaghab: Who could have guessed that such honest, ratlike faces could hide extreme criminality?

A father and son deli-owning duo insisted Saturday they were in court for a simple misunderstanding — and not because they tried to scam a customer out of a winning $1 million scratch-off ticket as authorities claim.

“Maybe the ticket said a million. But I gave him a thousand. I made a mistake,” Karim Jaghab, 26, told Nassau County police after he and his father were pinched for allegedly giving the customer a measly grand and trying to pocket the ticket for themselves.

The 34-year-old customer brought an “Unwrap the Cash” ticket to the Peninsula Deli & Grocery on Thursday, and Karim Jaghab confirmed it as a winner, but, police say, he failed to tell the man it was a $1 million jackpot.

The alleged scheme was blown when the suspicious customer returned the next day and asked more questions, cops said.

That’s when Jaghab and his dad, owner Nabil Jaghab, 57, told the customer they’d give him $10,000 — as long as he didn’t squeal to police, authorities said.

The customer, who didn’t speak English, did indeed call the cops, who were able to find the winning ticket and confirm the deception.

“The guy handed me the ticket. I ran it through the machine. I paid him $1,000. I told him I would give him $10,000. I just didn’t want to get in trouble,” Jaghab told Nassau County police.

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