Rightful lottery winner cashes in
Published: April 4, 2006
When Bob Sehested went to scan a lottery ticket he bought on Valentine’s Day - his 50th birthday - a liquor store clerk told him he’d won only “a few bucks.”
He had no idea he had rightfully won $530,858.
But after he watched an Internet video of the ticket exchange released by the California Lottery following a bogus claim for the cash, Sehested knew he’d hit gold.
“It’s a dream,” said Sehested, 50, of Camarillo, flanked by his wife and son Thursday during a press conference at the state lottery office in Van Nuys.
“I was looking to see if it was someone that I knew. When I clicked on the video on the Web site, I was surprised to find that it was me.”
California Lottery officials have launched a criminal investigation into a false claim for the 5-of-5 Mega Millions ticket sold Feb. 14 at Crossroads Liquor in Camarillo.
It was Sehested’s 50th birthday. With no plans for a birthday bash, the hardware store owner dropped $50 on lottery tickets hoping to score the $120 million jackpot.
When he returned to Crossroads Liquor the next morning, he said a familiar clerk told him someone had won $500,000 in the store. Scanning his tickets, one popped up that said “Congratulations - see the retailer.”
“I handed my ticket to the clerk,” said Sehested. “He told me I’d won a few bucks. So I just rolled it back into the lottery hoping to hit the big one.
“So I walked out of there with my cigarettes and four or five dollars worth of lottery tickets - I thought it was over.”
It wasn’t. That same day, a man other than the clerk walked into the state lottery office in Van Nuys with the winning $530,858 ticket.
When the man couldn’t explain how he got it, lottery officials refused to pay. Instead, they released a store surveillance video of Sehested making his purchase to local news media.
“We were able to locate him and find the right person,” declared James Dumelle, a lottery agent in charge of the investigation. “It’s his ticket, and he’s the winner.”
Dumelle declined to say whether the now-suspended store clerk knew the person in the false lottery claim. Charges, if filed, could range from potential grand theft to misappropriation of found property.
Two hours after claiming their winnings from the California Lottery, Sehested and his wife, Wendy, who runs the family-owned B&B Hardware in Culver City, said they’re not sure what to do with their new-found bonanza.
Perhaps they’ll spend it on a scuba-diving trip.
“I don’t play the lottery because I expect to win,” said the glassy-eyed winner who said he’s dropped “thousands” playing the state numbers game. “I play for the what-if - the dreams that you have while you wait for the drawing.”
His $500,000 advice:
“If you go to check your (lottery) ticket and it says, ‘See the retailer,’ sign the ticket, put your phone number on the ticket, then hand it to the clerk.
“Don’t trust anyone.”
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