Oldham shop worker claimed customer's £1m lottery prize

An Oldham shop worker who tried to claim a £1m lottery prize won by an elderly customer has admitted fraud.

Farrakh Nizzar, 30, of Woodlands Road, Crumpsall, Greater Manchester, told Maureen Holt, 77, she had won nothing when he scanned her ticket.

Oldham Magistrates Court heard that Nizzar later tried to claim the EuroMillions jackpot himself.

But the scam unravelled when checks were made by lottery operator Camelot. Nizzar will be sentenced on 20 August.

The checks revealed the winning ticket was bought at a Tesco Extra in Oldham, where Mrs Holt had used her Clubcard, and not the Best One Convenience Store in Watersheddings Street where Nizzar worked.

Mrs Holt and husband Fred, 80, had been on holiday when the EuroMillions UK Millionaire Raffle draw which matched their numbers was made in June.

A Camelot spokesman advised people to check if they had won before presenting their tickets at shops, but added that all claimants had to go through several security procedures to validate the ticket and determine whether they were the rightful owner.

The shop involved has been suspended from selling National Lottery tickets, pending an internal investigation, he said.

"I can confirm that we believe we have identified the genuine owner of the EuroMillions UK Millionaire Raffle prize from the draw on Friday 22 June 2012," the spokesman added.

"Camelot takes matters of propriety very seriously.

"Our operations and processes are subject to the scrutiny of our own internal auditors, independent external auditors, and representatives from our regulator, the National Lottery Commission.

"We are committed to investigating allegations made against any retailer selling National Lottery tickets - such allegations are very rare."

Det Insp Danny Inglis, of Greater Manchester Police, said: "We have worked very closely with Camelot throughout this investigation and will continue to do so during the remainder of the judicial process."

Nizzar, who admitted a charge of fraud by false representation, will be sentenced at Manchester Minshull Crown Court.