Store clerk stole $1M lottery ticket from unsuspecting winner, police say

A Tennessee shop clerk is successful basking h2o aft authorities opportunity he stole a customer’s winning lottery ticket, threw it distant and later fished it retired of nan trash and tried to declare nan winnings arsenic his own.

Meet Patel, 23, was charged pinch theft complete US$250,000, according to nan Rutherford Country Sheriff’s Office.

According to a constabulary news release, nan existent victor bought 2 winning Diamond and Gold scratch-off tickets worthy $20 each astatine a Murfreesboro, Tenn., state station. To prevention time, alternatively of scratching disconnected nan crippled connected nan tickets, he only scratched nan barroom codes and asked Patel to cheque to spot if they were winners.

One of nan tickets had a winning prize of $40, which Patel handed complete to nan winner, constabulary say. But nan different ticket, pinch a whopping $1-million winning prize, he dropped into nan garbage tin and told nan customer it wasn’t a winner.

Store video obtained by investigators astatine nan Tennessee Lottery showed Patel scanning nan tickets and dropping 1 into nan trash. However, later on, nan footage shows Patel allegedly sportfishing nan summons retired of nan garbage and putting it successful his pocket.

“Mr. Patel is past seen later successful nan video celebrating successful nan shop aft scratching disconnected nan beforehand of nan summons and learning it was a $1 cardinal winner,” Det. Dennis Ward said successful nan news release.

The Tennessee Lottery requires immoderate victor of a prize of $200,000 aliases much to declare their winnings astatine its Nashville headquarters.

Trending Now

However, labor were suspicious of Patel erstwhile he turned up pinch nan winning ticket, constabulary wrote.

“He went to nan Tennessee Lottery Commission to declare nan summons arsenic his ain and done their normal statement of questioning location were enough reddish flags for them to say, ‘Hey, you request to get each of your affairs successful bid and travel backmost to america and we’re gonna clasp connected to nan ticket,’” Lt. Det. Steve Craig told section outlet WTVF.

Now, Patel remains successful custody while he waits for his proceeding later this month.

The bully news, however, is that constabulary were capable to way down nan money’s rightful proprietor and person him to declare his winnings.

“The feel-good broadside of this communicative is nan (man) never knew he was nan winner until we made interaction pinch him,” Craig said. “That is perfectly life-changing money.”