Article published on 20 October 2010
Canadian Lottery Winner Duped out of Winnings
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According to Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG), the winner bought a ticket at That's Entertainment video store downtown, and then validated it at a nearby convenience store, the owners of which perpetrated the con.
When they validated the Super 7 ticket, the system said the ticketholder earned a free play lottery ticket, but the store owners - a father and son - kept the free ticket, and the rightful owner left ticketless and none the wiser.
The con was only uncovered thanks to OLG computer software launched this year, designed to track and detect ticket sale data patterns. When it created a profile for the winner of the Super 7 jackpot, it raised some flags.
The profile revealed that the (real) winner most probably lived and worked in St. Catharines and Burlington, and was a long time lottery ticket buyer, specifically buying their Super 7 lottery tickets at That's Entertainment.
But when the system cross-referenced this data with the people who claimed the $12.5 million jackpot, it revealed that 29-year-old Kathleen Chung cashed in the ticket, who is the respective daughter and sister of 60-year-old Jun-Chul Chung and 28-year-old Kenneth Chung, the owners of the convenience store.
OLG handed their findings over to the police department who are reportedly conducting an investigation into the matter. But at the expense of the real winner, the Chungs have been living the high life for the last seven years.
Said OLG chairman, Paul Godfrey, 'If someone can come in and tell us everything we already know about the Super 7 lottery ticket down to the last detail, there's a good chance we're looking at the rightful owner.'
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