Camarillo Man Fortunate He Didn't Lose Lottery Fortune to Fraud

Wednesday, June 28, 2006 posted 11:48 PM EDT

Robert J. Sehested figures he's one of the luckiest guys around.

It's not just that he won big in the multi-state Mega Millions game. It's that he even found out about his more than $530,000 in winnings.

Investigators say that the liquor store clerk who sold Sehested his winning ticket in February tried to swindle him out of his prize, telling Sehested when he came in the day after the drawing that he'd won $4.

The Camarillo man asked to take the winnings in four new lottery tickets.

As for the winning ticket, the clerk allegedly kept it for himself and then tried to cash it at a Lottery Commission office.

On Tuesday, Sam Grair, also known as Osama Ghrair, pleaded not guilty in Ventura County Superior Court to one count of grand theft, two counts of burglary and one count of filing a false claim — all felonies. Grair could face up to 12 years in state prison.

Grair, 42, who was arrested Friday afternoon in a Starbucks parking lot on South Victoria Avenue in Ventura, will return to court today to ask that his $500,000 bail be reduced.

Vinse Gilliam, deputy chief investigator for the Ventura County district attorney, said Grair should have known the risk of posing as the lottery winner, but was likely motivated by "pure greed."

"He knew the Lottery Commission came in the day after the winning ticket was announced and was checking the machine. He should have known they were going to follow up," Gilliam said. "I guess he figured he had the winning ticket and that would be enough."

Sehested said he's spent from $10 to $20 a week on tickets during the two decades California has had a lottery. On Feb. 14, for his 50th birthday, Sehested splurged and bought 50 chances on the Mega Millions jackpot, which had swelled to $120 million.

As he was ordering the tickets at Crossroads Market and Liquor in Camarillo, the ticket machine broke.

"While we were waiting for the machine to get back on-line, we joked that this must be the winning ticket," he said Tuesday.

The next day, when Sehested visited the market to learn whether he had any winners, a self-service verification device congratulated him — without telling him the amount he'd won — and instructed him to consult a store clerk.

He quipped to Grair that he'd probably only won $2, and said he was pleased when Grair told him it was actually $4. He swapped the old ticket for the four new ones.

The next day, Grair allegedly tried to cash Sehested's ticket at the Lottery Commission's office in Van Nuys, but couldn't answer all the standard questions asked of winners of six-figure prizes — including where and when he bought the ticket and whether the winning numbers were personally selected or quick picks.

Before Grair returned to the office for a second interview, lottery agent Jim Dumelle had reviewed a surveillance video from the liquor store that showed another man — later identified as Sehested — buying the ticket.

When confronted with the discrepancy, Dumelle said, Grair denied any fraud.

"He said, 'That's impossible. How could that be? I don't know what you're talking about. Goodbye,' " before walking out of the office.

The problem investigators then faced was locating the real winner. They distributed the video clip, which played on local television stations. Seeing the clip, several friends called Sehested and told him to check the lottery website, where his photo was posted.

Sehested came forward, and within a matter of weeks, he was able to pick up his check — about $400,000 after taxes, which he promptly converted into a bank certificate of deposit. He said he has no immediate plans to spend it.

Before it was solved, the mystery of the unknown lottery winner made national headlines, and Sehested figures "I've gotten more than my fair share of my 15 minutes of fame." He has appeared on the "Today" show and has filmed segments for upcoming programs on E! Entertainment Television and a Canadian Broadcasting Corp. news program.

Sehested, who has been instructed not to discuss the legal case against Grair, said he feels bad about the fact that the store clerk, whom he once considered a friend, could find himself behind bars.

"I'm not the type who really gets upset," he said. "I kind of feel sorry for the kid, because he's looking at a lot of time in prison."

Sehested said he went public to discuss his mishap after claiming his prize in order to warn other lottery players to follow the commission's advice and immediately sign the backs of their tickets to prevent theft or fraud.

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