$12-Million Lotto Ticket in Limbo as 2 Pursue Ownership Claims

Will the real $12-million winner of the California lottery please stand up?

That’s what those who have been following the Chae vs. Kim Super Lotto scandal want to know.

Is the rightful Lotto winner the Riverside liquor store owner who claims he was robbed of the ticket by two of his employees? Or is it one of the store workers, who says his boss threatened to have him deported as an illegal immigrant if he didn’t hand over his winnings?

Since the local Korean news media began to report the story last week, Korean Americans throughout Southern California have been debating the merits of each side, trying to figure out who is the innocent victim and who is the bad guy.

“Everybody says the story is unbelievable and shocking,” said Jong Hoon Lee, a reporter who has been covering the story for the Korea Central Daily. “People say it’s like a story out of a cartoon.”

Meanwhile, until the legal battle is resolved, the $12-million jackpot is staying in state hands.

“It’s very unusual to have a winning ticket being held up because of the uncertainty of its owner,” said Bob Taylor, a spokesman for the California State Lottery in Sacramento. “Our security agents have looked into it carefully, and we will not declare a winner until the situation is resolved legally.”

On Jan. 29, store owner Soo Jang Chae bought a lotto ticket for the California Super Lotto drawing later that night and placed it in the store’s cash register for safekeeping. He was not at the store when the results of the drawing were announced, according to a lawsuit filed by Chae and his attorney, Jae Lee.

Later that night, according to the lawsuit, two store employees, Dong Pil Kim and Kihyun Park, found a scrap of paper listing Chae’s selections for the drawing. After realizing that their boss held a winning ticket, they took the ticket from the store’s cash register and conspired to steal it and claim it as their own, the lawsuit states.

The next day, Kim told Chae he had won the lottery and offered to give Chae half of his earnings to repay him for his generosity. Kim’s sister, Eun Ahn, signed the ticket for her brother because Kim is not a legal resident of the United States.

“Kim and Chae met the next day, and “Kim confessed to Chae that it was really his ticket,” Lee said. “But Kim made himself out as a hero by saying that he saved the ticket from being stolen by Park.” Chae contacted Ahn and her husband, Hyung Kuk Ahn, and they agreed to surrender another 10% of the winnings they were sharing with Kim, Lee said.

After changing the ticket ownership to 60% for Chae and 40% for Kim, Park learned that he was being cut out of the deal and told his boss that Kim was a key conspirator in the plot to steal the ticket, Lee said.

“The initial agreement was that Kim and I would split the money,” said Park, who has agreed to testify on Chae’s behalf, although he is a defendant in Chae’s lawsuit. “I decided to testify for Chae because I was so angry that Mr. Kim betrayed me. He was trying to make me out as the only bad guy.”

After Park’s confession, Chae confronted the Ahn couple, and they threatened to burn down his liquor store, Lee said. Chae offered them $1 million to settle the matter but they refused.

The store owner then filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claiming he was a victim of fraud, conspiracy, conversion and trespass. He also filed a report with Riverside police, who are investigating the case.

“I went to the same high school in Korea as Mr. Ahn,” said Chae, who came to the United States in 1981. “I gave Mr. Kim a job and treated him like a real brother. I’m very disappointed because they’re so greedy.”

Meanwhile, Kim and his lawyer, Richard Song-Uk Kim, are preparing a lawsuit of their own. Attorney Kim said his client is the real victim because his boss threatened to have him deported unless he agreed to share his lottery earnings.

Although Chae was present, Kim said his client purchased the winning lottery ticket on his own. After winning the jackpot, he said, Kim agreed to give his boss half of his earnings even though there was no agreement that they would split the prize.

“My client is a very generous guy,” Kim said. “He offered to split the money out of a humanitarian gesture.”

Attorney Kim said Chae became more greedy as time passed and pressured his client into giving up 60% of his winnings by threatening to turn him in to the Immigration and Naturalization Service if he objected. Kim said his client has applied for permanent residency status but has not received his green card.

“Mr. Kim wanted to settle it amicably, so he agreed to give up 10% more,” Richard Kim said. “For someone without a green card, whenever someone makes a threat to have you deported, that’s very scary.”

Kim said his client was at the mercy of an “unscrupulous employer who abused his human rights,” and is seeking sole ownership of the ticket.

“They’re suffering from serious emotional distress,” Richard Kim said of Kim and the Ahns. “They’re having trouble sleeping at night because of the damage to their reputation.”

Chae is also feeling burned by the media attention and is in hiding until the case is resolved in court.

“A friend told me that he overheard some people talking about the case and they said they thought the store owner was a greedy, bad man,” Chae said. “My family and I are very unhappy now.”

Chae attributes his current situation to bad luck.

Several years ago, Chae won a Ford Thunderbird in a contest sponsored by a grocery store. A few days later, the car was stolen and it was never recovered.

“When I get luck, people take it from me,” he said. “That’s my life.”