According to prosecutors, a cashier at a gas station in Tennessee, United States, attempted to cheat a customer out of a $1 million winning lottery ticket. The truth was revealed when he went to claim the lottery ticket, and surveillance footage exposed the scheme.
The 23-year-old Meer Patel has been accused of theft and could face fines of over $250,000.
Court documents show that on July 13 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, a customer purchased two scratch-off tickets at a Shell gas station. After buying them, he handed the tickets directly to Patel and asked him to check if they were winners.
According to the Sheriff’s Office press release, both tickets purchased by the customer were winners, one worth $40 and the other a whopping $1 million.
After scanning the barcodes on the tickets, Patel did not disclose to the customer that both were winners. He only paid out $40 to the customer and threw the big winning ticket into the trash.
Surveillance footage from inside the store showed Patel picking up the discarded winning ticket after the customer left and putting it in his pocket.
Lieutenant Steve Craig of the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office told The New York Times on Wednesday that Patel knew it was a big winning ticket worth over $600.
He clarified that while Patel knew the ticket was worth over $600, he may not have known it was valued at $1 million.
According to the press release, Detective Dennis Ward said that in the video, Patel is seen scratching off the ticket, discovering it was a $1 million winner, and celebrating inside the store.
Subsequently, Patel went to the lottery company to claim the $1 million prize, claiming he found the ticket in the trash.
However, staff became suspicious and requested police to review the gas station’s surveillance footage.
Currently, Patel is being held at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center with bail set at $100,000. His court hearing is scheduled for July 30.
Ultimately, law enforcement was able to identify the true winner of the ticket through the surveillance video. The customer was extremely surprised to learn of their unexpected windfall.