Two southwestern Ontario women are facing charges after police say a $50,000 lottery ticket was stolen by a store employee and redeemed by the suspect’s associate at a small-town retail outlet.
The alleged theft occurred in Mitchell, a small community located 60 kilometres north of London and 20 kilometres northwest of Stratford.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation contacted the Ontario Provincial Police’s Investigation and Enforcement Bureau about a suspicious lottery ticket win at a retail outlet in Mitchell last December.
“It is alleged the winning ticket was stolen by a store employee and the $50,000 cash prize was subsequently claimed by an associate of that employee,” police said in a press release.
Anita Russell, 44, of Mitchell, and Melanie Thompson, 51, of Stratford both face charges of fraud over $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000. Ms. Russell has also been charged with theft over $5,000.
The OPP said both individuals have been released from police custody and are scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Stratford. No date was provided.
This is not the first time an employee has been accused of stealing a winning lottery ticket from a store.
A father and his daughter were sentenced to jail time in 2019 for their role in stealing a lottery ticket worth $12.5 million.
According to court documents, Jun-Chul Chung and his son, Kenneth Chung, stole 31 lottery tickets, one of which was the $12.5 million jackpot winner. Jun-Chul’s daughter, Kathleen Chung, cashed in the ticket.
Jun-Chul Chung was sentenced to seven years in jail and Ms. Chung had her four-year sentence reduced to three years upon appeal.
The true winner of the ticket was identified years later, court documents said, and received the $12.5 million, plus interest.
Another store employee in Manitoba, Cynthia Hallick, was accused of stealing scratch and win lottery tickets from the gas station and convenience store where she worked. The thefts began in 2015, according to the Court of King’s Bench in Manitoba. She was fired in 2019 when the thefts were discovered.
In total, the employee was said to have stolen $425,755 in lottery tickets and was ordered to pay that amount back to the store.
