Lottery Fraudster Nabbed by Western Canada Lottery Corp
It was a double windfall for one lucky Winnipeg man who was handed over $90,000 in prize money for a lottery ticket he didn't even realize he owned.
On July 14th, the 61 year old man purchased a 6/49 lottery ticket that was good for five draws.
He asked the gas station clerk to check the ticket and on the third draw was happy to learn that he had won $5. Pleased with his win, he went on his way, not realizing that he should have received two replacement tickets on the two draws still not checked.
According to Constable Jason Michalyshen of the Winnipeg police force, the employee purposefully kept the remaining tickets.
"The employee pocketed the two tickets and hung on to them," he said. "The victim didn't initially realize what had transpired."
The draw on those tickets was made several weeks later, on July 27th, and - amazingly - they hit for over $90,000 in prize money.
The clerk, thrilled that his deception had paid off, went to claim his winnings, but it was not to be.
Suspicious WCLC Officials Discover Fraud
When the fraudster clerk was asked standard questions about his claims by officials with the Western Canada Lottery Corp, he raised their suspicions as they did not match the information found on the ticket itself.
"The bar code on the ticket gives us very complete information about it," said Andrea Marantz, a spokeswoman with the lottery group, "and we ensure the information we get from the winner matches the factual information."
The matter was referred to the police, and Manitoba Lotteries also began their own investigation. The fraudster was finally arrested on August 25th and was charged with theft and fraud - not quite the prize he was expecting to receive!
In the meantime, the original owner of the ticket was tracked down and handed a check to the value of $90,641.
Const. Michalyshen said: "There's some incredible uniqueness to this one because a ticket that was stolen ended up with a prize in excess of $90,000."
Marantz added: "That is rare. We really haven't had anything major like this since some time in the 90's."
