Willis Willis´ lawyer Sean E. Breen says commission attorneys told the Grand Prairie man Monday they consider the clerk who was indicted for allegedly fraudulently claiming Willis´ prize to be the winner.
Breen said the commission´s general counsel, Kim Kiplin, and two other lawyers refused to answer any of their questions.
Commission spokesman Bobby Heith declined to comment.
Authorities believe Pankaj Joshi, now indicted on a charge of claiming a lottery prize by fraud, fled to Nepal after about $750,000 was transferred to him.
About half of the money has been recovered from US banks. Prosecutor Patricia Robertson has said that money is being held and some will be returned to the victim.
Meanwhile, Star-Telegram newspaper from Texas reported that prosecutors in Travis County who have indicted Joshi say Willis is the winner and hope to return to him about $365,000 they have seized from Joshi’s bank accounts.
Willis, who has played the same Mega Millions numbers for years, bought the winning ticket May 29 at the Lucky Food Store at 902 Great Southwest Parkway in Grand Prairie, authorities said.
Willis returned to the Lucky Food Store on May 31 to have the Mega Millions ticket and two Cash 5 tickets scanned, because he had not been able to locate the winning numbers.
Joshi scanned the tickets — the Mega Millions ticket was a $1 million winner — but gave Willis only $2 for one of the Cash 5 tickets, authorities said.
Joshi later went to Austin and cashed in the Mega Millions ticket, receiving $750,000 after taxes, a search warrant affidavit said. Joshi, a former student at the University of Texas at Arlington, is believed to have gone back to his native Nepal, authorities said.
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