The Tennessee Lottery presented a $200,000 Powerball prize Tuesday to a Sumner County man whose winning ticket was allegedly stolen by two convenience store clerks on June 3, 2011. The clerks were arrested and the pending case is set for preliminary hearing on December 14 in Sumner County General Sessions Court.

“I am so thankful for the work that has gone into getting this prize to me,” said Mr. Roy Chase, a retired employee of the Ford Glass Plant. “This is a blessing for me and my family,” said Mr. Chase, whose tale began on June 3, when he took a Powerball ticket to Xpress Mart, 507 N. Broadway in Portland, to see if he had matched any of the numbers drawn in the Powerball drawing held June 1.

According to records, the clerk, Kanubhai Bhatt, scanned the tickets and told Chase the ticket was not a winner.

On August 29, 2011, Piyushkumar Patel, the son-in-law of Bhatt, tried to cash the ticket himself at the Lottery’s Nashville headquarters. At that time, Lottery Security in accordance with internal Lottery procedures conducted an investigation and discovered possible criminal conduct and contacted the Sumner County District Attorney’s office. Both men, who live in Sumner County, were arrested and charged with felony theft over $60,000, a Class B Felony under Tennessee law.

“We have a number of safeguards in place to protect our players and maintain the integrity of the Lottery,” said Rebecca Hargrove, President and CEO of the Tennessee Lottery. “In this instance our process revealed irregularities and our security team investigated accordingly. Today we are thrilled to pay the rightful owner of the winning ticket his prize.”

“Confidence in our games is critical to the Lottery’s continued success,” said Hargrove. “This is a great time to remind our players that the best method of protecting your winnings is to always sign the ticket immediately and to check the winning numbers personally.”

Source:  http://www.newschannel9.com/news/prize-1006749-lottery-county.html