Wisconsin woman receives probation for stealing and cashing $25,000 lottery ticket

May 28, 2020, 8:32 am (22 comments)

Wisconsin Lottery

Former convenience store clerk gets a total of three years' probation for theft and fraud

By Kate Northrop

PORTAGE, Wisc. — Jessica N. Surratt, 32, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin was sentenced on Tuesday to two years of probation after pleading guilty to fraud for cashing a winning ticket worth $25,000.

This is in addition to the one year of probation she was initially handed for the theft of tickets back in 2018.

On June 16, 2018, Surratt stole nine scratch-off lottery tickets from the Portage Market Basket store at which she worked. One of those tickets was a $25,000 winner. She claimed the lottery prize and was awarded $15,822 after taxes.

On the morning of June 21, a representative from the Wisconsin State Lottery visited the convenience store to tell the manager that a $25,000 winning lottery ticket had been sold there. The manager recalled that Surratt had worked the previous Saturday night and Sunday morning, but then suspiciously called in sick the following days.

The store manager called the Portage Police Department that evening and informed investigators.

A customer who witnessed Surratt hiding the tickets at the store told Portage police that she saw her tear several scratch-off lottery tickets off their rolls and stuff them under the counter. The witness took note of the tickets Surratt snatched: two worth $30, two $5, and five $2 tickets.

In September 2018, Surratt received one year of probation for retail theft.

The state Department of Revenue filed a complaint against Surratt for claiming the prize. The complaint cites Surratt meeting with State Capitol Police Detective Mark Ellington at the Eau Claire County Jail in October 2019. There, she admitted to signing the claim form and cashing the prize money check.

Surratt was then charged on Dec. 2, 2019 with fraudulent writings and uttering a forgery for claiming the prize she won with the stolen "One Million Now" scratch-off ticket. She was arrested by Portage police for theft and later pleaded no contest to misdemeanor retail theft.

As a repeat offender, Surratt originally faced up to eight years of combined prison and extended supervision on each charge.

A forgery charge against Surratt was dismissed as part of a plea deal. The agreement led Assistant District Attorney Dan Hess and state Assistant Public Defender Svetlana Taylor to recommend a two-year probation to Dane County Circuit Judge John Hyland, in addition to the one-year probation that Surrat had already received in 2018 for retail theft.

With regard to the sentence, Hyland noted that the probation outcome was an appropriate consequence that allowed Surratt to take "timely responsibility."

Lottery Post Staff

Comments

Unlucky-Kenny's avatarUnlucky-Kenny

Hey look our state made the news!!!!

Oh wait......this isn't a good article.

Dead

LOL

Glad she got caught - this kind of crap makes players disgruntled.

To bad she did not see some bars though.

 

I remember how upset I was when I read this article while back about WI:

https://www.wisconsinwatch.org/2018/03/some-people-repeatedly-win-the-wisconsin-lottery-do-they-play-fair/

 

Lots of big consistent winners in both WI and around the country happen to be store owners or work for stores - seems fishy.

SaraAnnRapp's avatarSaraAnnRapp

How did she know there was a winning ticket? What?

Unlucky-Kenny's avatarUnlucky-Kenny

Quote: Originally posted by SaraAnnRapp on May 28, 2020

How did she know there was a winning ticket? What?

Either got stupid lucky or has been micro scratching for a long time - but that was the only time she got caught maybe?

Who knows.

Bleudog101

Chalk up another one for the stupid criminals caught.

 

Strange that restitution of the winnings wasn't part of the deal, though I doubt they'd see their money paid her.

Surratt will never take "time responsibility"; what was Hyland thinking?  She's a career criminal who may move onto bigger and better things.

Kudos to all the good folks that went after Surratt.

music*'s avatarmusic*

Jessica N. Surratt, 32, could have at least 50 years of life remaining. She is ruining her employment resume for the rest of her life. 

 Is there a government place where future employers of criminals can find past crimes committed by felons? Jessica might lie on her resume but I hope there is somewhere online that tells the truth about her past.

 If Jessica was a man, "Jess" so to speak, he would have done time the first time around. 

 Jessica probably committed tax fraud as well.

Bleudog101

Friends that have/are working for Public Defenders office can access Facebook accounts of criminals and law enforcement uses that too.   You'd be surprised by the folks of what they post about crimes they've committed!

To make a long story short, HR departments have access to all kinds of things @ their disposal.   I'll have to ask about on-line tools used like you asked.

cottoneyedjoe's avatarcottoneyedjoe

These scratch off thieves we always read about are too greedy for their own good. She could have covered her tracks by giving the winning ticket to a friend and then telling that friend to come into the store to buy more of the same scratch off. Or better yet, just tear up any big winners and keep only the small winners that can be cashed at a gas station. If your job is selling lottery products, aren't you supposed to know they are designed to be highly traceable? LOL

Unlucky-Kenny's avatarUnlucky-Kenny

Quote: Originally posted by cottoneyedjoe on May 28, 2020

These scratch off thieves we always read about are too greedy for their own good. She could have covered her tracks by giving the winning ticket to a friend and then telling that friend to come into the store to buy more of the same scratch off. Or better yet, just tear up any big winners and keep only the small winners that can be cashed at a gas station. If your job is selling lottery products, aren't you supposed to know they are designed to be highly traceable? LOL

Yeah seriously.

Begs the question how many get away with it on a regular basis because they use 5% of their brain

LOL

reddog's avatarreddog

She got off easy. Should had at least done some community service along with the probation.

PHIL85

She steals tickets from her employer and then cashes in a major prize tickets.  You call PROBATION just punishment!?

What, did the judge forget to buy her dinner and give the lady $500 in gift cards to boot?

Unlucky-Kenny's avatarUnlucky-Kenny

Quote: Originally posted by PHIL85 on May 28, 2020

She steals tickets from her employer and then cashes in a major prize tickets.  You call PROBATION just punishment!?

What, did the judge forget to buy her dinner and give the lady $500 in gift cards to boot?

Confused the heck out of me too - slap on the wrist.

She will start scamming somewhere else probably.

Bleudog101

For current inmates in KY you can look them up on KOOL under KY DOC; however once they are released HR et al would have to pay to find out someone's questionable past according to my friend here. 

MsBee18

Quote: Originally posted by cottoneyedjoe on May 28, 2020

These scratch off thieves we always read about are too greedy for their own good. She could have covered her tracks by giving the winning ticket to a friend and then telling that friend to come into the store to buy more of the same scratch off. Or better yet, just tear up any big winners and keep only the small winners that can be cashed at a gas station. If your job is selling lottery products, aren't you supposed to know they are designed to be highly traceable? LOL

Mighty clever cottoneyedjoe but scratchoff tickets usually have to be scanned at point of sale which gives retailers a day/time to pull cameras. You'd probably have to be a manager to get away with it even through a friend. Mind you you don't know which ticket in the pac is a claimer.

cottoneyedjoe's avatarcottoneyedjoe

Quote: Originally posted by MsBee18 on May 28, 2020

Mighty clever cottoneyedjoe but scratchoff tickets usually have to be scanned at point of sale which gives retailers a day/time to pull cameras. You'd probably have to be a manager to get away with it even through a friend. Mind you you don't know which ticket in the pac is a claimer.

Scratch off theft does seem to be a crime that's hard to get away with -- except maybe for petty amounts that aren't worth the effort. The thieves who've figured it out are the ones we'll never read about.

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