NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Murfreesboro, TN, July 25, 2024: A convenience store clerk is facing charges after allegedly stealing a customer’s winning lottery ticket and attempting to claim the prize himself.
Meet Patel, 23, has been charged with theft exceeding $250,000 by the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office. The incident occurred at a gas station in Murfreesboro, where a customer purchased two Diamond and Gold scratch-off lottery tickets. Instead of scratching the tickets, the customer merely scratched the bar codes and asked Patel to check if they were winners.
Patel informed the customer that one of the tickets was worth $40 and handed over the prize. However, he told the customer that the other ticket, which had a winning prize of $1 million, was not a winner and discarded it into the trash.
Surveillance footage obtained by the Tennessee Lottery investigators revealed Patel scanning both tickets and then dropping one into the garbage. The video later shows Patel retrieving the discarded ticket and putting it in his pocket. Detective Dennis Ward noted in a press release that Patel was seen celebrating in the store after scratching off the ticket and discovering the $1 million prize.
Patel’s attempt to claim the winnings at the Tennessee Lottery headquarters in Nashville raised suspicions among employees due to irregularities in his story. According to Lt. Detective Steve Craig, the lottery officials asked Patel to “get all of [his] affairs in order” before returning, while they retained the ticket.
Patel is currently in custody awaiting a hearing later this month.
The police managed to locate the rightful owner of the ticket, who was unaware of his win until contacted by authorities.
“The feel-good side of this story is the [man] never knew he was the winner until we made contact with him,” Craig said. “That is absolutely life-changing money.”
