Poisoned Lotto Winner's Family Fighting Over Check

Court documents reveal dispute around Urooj Khan's estate
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 10, 2013 9:02 AM CST
Poisoned Lotto Winner's Family Fighting Over Check
This undated photo provided by the Illinois Lottery shows Urooj Khan, 46, of Chicago's West Rogers Park neighborhood, posing with a winning lottery ticket.   ((AP Photo/Illinois Lottery))

The plot has thickened in the case of poisoned lottery winner Urooj Khan. Court documents reviewed by the AP reveal that Khan's death has led to a bitter fight amongst his survivors over his estate—including his still uncashed $425,000 lotto check. Because Khan died without a will, Illinois law dictates his $1.2 million estate be split between his widow, Shabana Ansari, and his 17-year-old daughter from a previous marriage. But Khan's brother and sister, Imtiaz and Meraj Khan, fear the daughter won't get her fair share.

In September, the siblings alleged that Ansari had tried to cash the lotto check on her own, and convinced a judge to freeze the check. While the siblings have made no claim on Khan's estate for themselves, Meraj is trying to become the legal guardian of the daughter, who still lives with Ansari. Police questioned Ansari for more than four hours in November, but her lawyers say there's no reason to think she's a suspect. "In any case where a husband dies in that manner, sure they're going to talk to the spouse," they said. Click for more on the case. (More Urooj Khan stories.)

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