Judge freezes business assets of dead lottery winner

CHICAGO, April 30 (UPI) -- A Cook County probate judge has frozen the business assets of a Chicago man who died of cyanide poisoning after winning a $1 million lottery jackpot.

The action follows an emergency motion filed by the sister of the late Urooj Khan who argues his business assets should be part of his estate and divided equally between his widow and his daughter by a previous marriage, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday.

Khan's sister, Meraj, was granted guardianship of his 17-year-old daughter, Jasmeen, following his death.

Khan died without a will but a deal he reportedly signed left his share of several dry cleaning stores to his wife, Shabana Ansari.

Removing the dry cleaning stores from his estate would drop its worth from $2 million to about $680,000.

Chicago police say Khan's death remains an active homicide investigation. His widow has denied any wrongdoing and has not been accused of a crime.