A convenience store clerk in Orlando has recently been arrested and charged with grand theft after having stolen a winning scratch-off lottery ticket, worth $1,000, in an undercover sting operation.
Krupali Rajivkumar Shah, 36, was targeted in the undercover operation while she was working at the Semoran Food Mart, located on 1 Semoran Blvd. The operation occurred on Thursday, August 20, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Local authorities had partnered with the Florida Lottery and the Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco to conduct the operation.
An undercover agent, posing as a customer, entered the Semoran Food Mart that morning and brought in four lottery tickets: three losing scratch-off tickets and one winning scratch-off ticket. According to ClickOrlando.com, Shah scanned all four tickets at the store’s Florida Lottery computer terminal behind the counter, and the computer records show that the terminal informed Shah of the winning $1,000 ticket.
Shah told the undercover that none of the tickets were winners, and she did not return any of the tickets to the agent.
The owner of Semoran Food Mart, Brijesh Patel, stated that he immediately fired the clerk after the incident; however, Shah told local reporters that it was an honest mistake and she didn’t mean to steal the winning ticket.
“I’m not that kind of person, sir,” Shah said. “I have never done anything wrong in my life. It was a stupid mistake from my end. I just moved from Georgia.”
Research shows that lottery tickets are the most common form of gambling in the U.S., and because lottery tickets are especially popular in Florida, the state’s lottery is typically harsh when it comes to theft.
Patel stated that his store’s Florida Lottery terminal had been shut down by officials after Shah’s arrest and the sale of lottery tickets in the Semoran Food Mart was suspended temporarily.
If Shah is convicted for grand theft of the ticket, she could face up to five years in prison.
