UK shopkeeper guilty of lottery fraud

Apr 4, 2013, 5:02 am (29 comments)

UK National Lottery

A shopkeeper from Gravesend, a town in northwest Kent, England, has been found guilty of trying to con a lottery syndicate [pool] out of nearly £80,000 (US$120,000) in winnings.

Imran Pervais, 26, misled the winning group into thinking they had won £10 when in fact they had scooped £79,887 after matching five balls and the bonus ball.

He was convicted by a jury at Maidstone crown court of fraud by false representation following a two-day trial and he will be sentenced at a later date.

Detectives said Pervais, of Milton Road, Gravesend, had abused the trust placed in him by the victims to try to pocket the lottery winnings himself.

He was working at Moores Convenience Store in Gravesend, on 18 May when the one of the syndicate walked in to check four lottery tickets he had bought the week before. The victim, who paid for 28 lines a week as part of a work syndicate, was told by Pervais that one of the tickets had registered a £10 win.

As another winning slip was being printed, the victim said: "What's that? Another tenner?" Pervais was said to have replied: "Yes."

Using the £20 won in total and adding a further £8, the victim bought another 28 lines for the next lottery draw — not realizing he had fallen victim to fraud.

It was only when the man returned to work and checked the numbers that he realized one of the lines had in fact matched five numbers, which would earn a prize of £1,000.

He then went back to the store and informed Pervais, who told him to return in a couple of hours so he could check the shop for the ticket.

In the meantime, the court heard the victim checked the numbers again and realized that in fact the bonus ball on that line had also been matched, triggering a near-£80,000 windfall.

He went back to tell Pervais and demanded to be shown the ticket. He was given a number of bin bags to search through before being invited to look behind the counter.

Some wooden plinths were removed from the back of the counter, revealing a number of pink winning slips and a screwed-up lottery ticket — the victim's winning ticket.

Camelot launched an investigation and found that all four tickets had been scanned, including the one with the substantial winning prize. Pervais was arrested on 15 June.

Following the verdict, Detective Constable Angela Costin said: "Pervais was placed in a position of trust and he abused that trust in an attempt to make a significant monetary gain for himself.

"He also denied this from the outset and sought to con this syndicate out of a considerable amount of money.

"It was the victim's organization of his syndicate paperwork that led him to discover that he had matched five numbers and the bonus ball.

"Many people put their trust in shop staff and ask them to check lottery tickets on their behalf. I hope this sends out a clear message to members of the public to check the tickets themselves."

Thanks to myturn for the tip.

Press Association

Comments

helpmewin's avatarhelpmewin

Wow! i always check my tickets and if i do win something i ask for them backBig Grin

JoshUK

Crazy, this is quite close to me aswel. I always check them online, and if I do go to a store I sign my name on the back and ask for it back.

Toni Love6's avatarToni Love6

Glad that this disbonest person was caught.

hearsetrax's avatarhearsetrax

Roll Eyes just the other clerk that needs to have his bollocks handed to him

hsg2000

This Imran Pervais (also known Pervez), a muslim. Muslims are crooks and are known to lie and con people out of money and their assetts. These radicals are known to use any method to get their ways either by hook or crook. 

This person should be dealt severly and punished, his license need to be taken away so as to prevent further such abuses and the business be under surveillance.  Other businesses owned by muslims to be under surveillance too to prevent fraud.

maringoman's avatarmaringoman

Quote: Originally posted by hsg2000 on Apr 4, 2013

This Imran Pervais (also known Pervez), a muslim. Muslims are crooks and are known to lie and con people out of money and their assetts. These radicals are known to use any method to get their ways either by hook or crook. 

This person should be dealt severly and punished, his license need to be taken away so as to prevent further such abuses and the business be under surveillance.  Other businesses owned by muslims to be under surveillance too to prevent fraud.

Wow hsg2000 is this 2013 or 1913? Educate yourself by watching Dateline's lottery ticket sting operations and by reading books & LP stories, and get to know a few muslims and hopefully you are still young enough to learn something. Do you think you can do that? What?

RJOh's avatarRJOh

This story should send a message to all lottery crooks clerks, you can con a single player easier than you can a group(syndicate).

luckyshoes's avatarluckyshoes

Funny that hes from Graves end. Look like he ll get his!

Ronnie316

Those darn clerks.

Ronnie316

Quote: Originally posted by RJOh on Apr 4, 2013

This story should send a message to all lottery crooks clerks, you can con a single player easier than you can a group(syndicate).

I Agree! I will play in pools whenever I can.

Ronnie316

Quote: Originally posted by helpmewin on Apr 4, 2013

Wow! i always check my tickets and if i do win something i ask for them backBig Grin

I always ask for the terminal generated receipt, and watch to make sure they dont pull a switch.

RJOh's avatarRJOh

Quote: Originally posted by RJOh on Apr 4, 2013

This story should send a message to all lottery crooks clerks, you can con a single player easier than you can a group(syndicate).

The guy buying the tickets for the pool may trust the clerks but not everyone in the pool trust him. Wink

Ronnie316

Quote: Originally posted by RJOh on Apr 4, 2013

The guy buying the tickets for the pool may trust the clerks but not everyone in the pool trust him. Wink

I Agree! Never trust the leader of the pool, OR the clerk.

tnhope's avatartnhope

I Agree!...and ask for a receipt

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