He wanted to keep the ticket. An Oregon store employee is accused of stealing a lottery ticket valued at $25,000, reports US media Fox 12.
On Thursday, September 19, Oregon State Police lottery security inspectors presented a winning ticket to an employee at the Short Stop store in the city of La Grande.
The employee scanned the tickets and indicated that there was no winner, thereby retaining a winning ticket valued at $25,000. Oregon Lottery staff discontinued this valuable coupon.
According to the Oregon Lottery, the employee mailed it on September 26, along with the form to claim his winnings with a signed statement.
“It is rare to see a dishonest individual”
After being questioned by detectives, the store employee, whose name was not released, was charged with first-degree aggravated robbery and computer crime. Lottery organizers say charges of theft by deception and tampering have been referred to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.
They say Short Stop has been a lottery ticket retailer since 2005 and has no history of compliance issues.
“While it is rare to see a dishonest person at one of our retailers, we have a responsibility to ensure our tickets are played with fairness and integrity. These checks are one way to do that,” said Justin Hedlund, deputy director of the Oregon Lottery. . security.
The Oregon Lottery says OSP periodically conducts undercover police checks at retailers throughout the year, and more than 170 such checks have been conducted since 2020.
Source: BFM TV
