A worker at a gas station in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, was arrested this week on charges he deceived the rightful winner of a $1 million lottery ticket and tried to cash it himself.
Meet Patel, 23, is accused of scanning the winning ticket for the customer who bought it, only to tell him it was a loser before throwing it in the trash and later claiming it for himself.
Patel is facing a Class A felony charge over the incident, and currently sits in Rutherford County Jail (pictured) on $100,000 bail. He is set for a preliminary hearing on July 30.
The Winning Ticket
Police say that earlier this year, a man walked into the Shell gas station in Murfreesboro, about 35 miles south of Nashville, and purchased two Diamond and Gold scratch-off tickets. He then scratched off the two barcodes, and asked Patel to scan them to see if the tickets had won.
Patel scanned them both, but failed to tell the customer that one of the tickets was a million dollar winner. He instead threw it in the trash, claiming it was a loser, and handed him the second ticket back, which had won $40.
Then, after the customer left, investigators say Patel was caught on surveillance footage going back to the trash and fishing out the winning ticket. He later tried to claim it at the Tennessee Lottery Office.
However, Lottery officials, in their usual line of questioning, soon became suspicious and decided to check the gas station’s cameras. That’s when they discovered the evidence that led to his arrest just days later.
As for the million-dollar winner, police tracked him down and he eventually got his ticket. The unnamed father from Antioch, Tennessee, has now claimed his rightful prize.
“The feel-good side of this story is he never knew he was the winner until we made contact with him,” said local officer Lt. Steve Craig, speaking to CNN. “That is absolutely life-changing money.”
Sentences and Fraudsters
The Tennessee action is far from the only recent incident in the U.S. of people, or even store clerks, attempting to steal or fraudulently claim high-value jackpot lottery tickets.
Carly Nunes of Lakeville, Massachusetts, was working at a local liquor store when a customer forgot to pick up one of his batch of Mega Millions tickets. Instead of reminding him before he left the store, Nunes pocketed the ticket. It turned out to be a $3 million winner.
However, her claim unraveled when she and her co-worker, Joseph Reddem, visited the Massachusetts Lottery office to claim the ticket. Nunes and Reddem couldn’t resist arguing, during which time Reddem allegedly attempted to extort a share of the three million for his silence. The disturbance was heard by Lottery officials, who then started an investigation.
Reddem is currently on the run from authorities, charged with extortion. Nunes was sentenced to two years probation on the grounds she continues to get treatment for her substance abuse issues.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.