8-time B.C. Lottery winner has history of fraud

Jun 12, 2007, 9:29 am (15 comments)

British Columbia Lottery

A Kamloops store clerk who won the lottery eight times over the past five years was convicted of fraud in 2001.

On May 30, after a scathing report from the B.C. ombudsman on possible retailer fraud, the B.C. Lottery Corp. released the names of 24 retailers known to have won multiple prizes over the past seven years.

Court records obtained by The Vancouver Sun show that one of those retailers — Kulvinder Kaur Bains, 43, an employee at the Halston Market in Kamloops — pleaded guilty in August 2001 to a charge of fraud under $5,000.

The court file states the victim of the fraud was Canadian Tire, but doesn't detail the exact nature of the offence.

Bains — whose husband, Gary Bains, owns the Halston Market — received a suspended sentence along with six months probation and 15 hours of community service.

Reached by phone at her home, Bains denied she had been convicted of fraud.

"I don't have any [convictions]," said Bains, who refused to comment further.

However, on the probation order in the criminal case, Bains's home address is listed as an apartment located right above the Halston Market — where a neighbour says Bains and her husband used to live.

The couple now live in a house a block down the street from the store.

Asked if BCLC was aware of Bains's criminal past, spokeswoman Robin Cook said the corporation's security staff were looking into the matter but would not be able to provide an answer before today at the earliest.

Cook said, however, that the corporation "likely would not have a record of this" — it doesn't conduct criminal record checks on retailers.

Under new rules adopted in December, the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch (GPEB), which regulates gambling in B.C., will soon begin registering retailers — a process that will include criminal-record checks.

Derek Sturko, head of GPEB, said under the new rules, the branch will require two people at each retail outlet to be registered — usually the owner and the manager.

If either has a record, said Sturko, the outlet could be barred from selling lottery tickets.

"It depends what [the record is] for," he said. "If it was something that could put at risk the integrity of gaming, they would not be able to be involved in gaming."

Regular employees will not be subject to such background checks, said Sturko.

But he said owners and managers will be held accountable for the actions of their staff — meaning they could lose their right to sell lottery tickets if an employee commits fraud.

According to BCLC's records, Bains won the lottery eight separate times for a total of $19,351.

Five of the prizes were for Keno, two were for Extra and one was Super 7.

Most of the prizes were wins of between $1,000 and $3,000 — but in 2006-07, Bains won a $7,500 prize at Keno.

Bains refused to comment on her winning streak when contacted by The Sun.

But in a story in the Kamloops Daily News, published shortly after BCLC released the list of names, Gary Bains said his wife was just lucky.

"If you play, you can win," Gary Bains told the paper. "It wasn't a million dollars. It wasn't the 6/49."

On June 1, The Sun reported that two of the retailers who won multiple prizes — and a third who won a single, $15,000 prize — were in such financial difficulty around the time of their winnings that they declared bankruptcy.

At that time, BCLC said it was not aware of the bankruptcies and its security staff don't investigate the financial history of retailers who claim prizes.

The lottery corporation has said it is not aware of any cases in which a lottery prize was paid out to someone other than the ticket's rightful owner.

However, ombudsman Kim Carter's report, released May 29, found several serious problems with the lottery corporation's security system, including that it did not pay special attention to retailers who won multiple prizes.

"BCLC did not look at these prize payouts any differently, from the perspective of security, than a series of individual wins," she wrote.

Vancouver Sun

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jarasan's avatarjarasan

That is a low threshold for being considered a "Lottery Winner", I always thought of a lottery winner as a person that hit a significant jackpot at least $50K minimum.   Also where is the fraud being commited?  I see retailers participating in the games all the time.

TigerAngel's avatarTigerAngel

Recently on TV a store clerk check 50 tickets for a guy and told him he won $5. Actually he won $500,000. When the clerk went to the lottery to cash the ticket he could not answer their questions correctly, like, how many tickets did you buy. They looked on the video tape and found the real winner.

Check your own tickets!!

jeffrey's avatarjeffrey

There is no punishment anymore. Where is the hot tar and feathers. Oh for the old days when they cut a hand or nose off.

nc6string

Quote: Originally posted by TigerAngel on Jun 12, 2007

Recently on TV a store clerk check 50 tickets for a guy and told him he won $5. Actually he won $500,000. When the clerk went to the lottery to cash the ticket he could not answer their questions correctly, like, how many tickets did you buy. They looked on the video tape and found the real winner.

Check your own tickets!!

I'm not sure how the clerks end  up with the tickets in the first place.  There isn't a rule you have to surrender a losing ticket to a clerk.   I hand a six month Powerball slip to a clerk to check for winners.  If no, I get my ticket back.  I can take it somewhere else if I don't believe them.  Common sense.  Might even take a winning ticket to another retailer just to be safe/sure, there's one every block here.

nc6string

Plus, you should always save losing tickets anyway to use as a tax deduction, in the case that you may have some winners that year, that you may owe tax on.

MissNYC's avatarMissNYC

Quote: Originally posted by TigerAngel on Jun 12, 2007

Recently on TV a store clerk check 50 tickets for a guy and told him he won $5. Actually he won $500,000. When the clerk went to the lottery to cash the ticket he could not answer their questions correctly, like, how many tickets did you buy. They looked on the video tape and found the real winner.

Check your own tickets!!

You saw that on the E True Hollywood Special right? That was definately one interesting show. Love the quote by the way, Law of Attraction all the way....I guess we will both be lottery winners :-)

jarasan's avatarjarasan

In MD and DC, there are customer scanner devices attached to the terminals' so that people can scan their own tickets! They'll say like "not a winner" or "Congratulations, winner. Present ticket for payment.

"I scan sometimes to double check but as an informed member of the lottery community I always know exactly what I've won, what I'll owe if I buy tickets with winnings, and the people I buy from know it.

They are actually surprised that when the tab comes up and I have the exact money ready or I say "you owe me nothing" imitating them. 

It is your money and tickets, it is not the houses', always be on top of what you are playing and that kind of bad stuff will happen less often.  But then again I'm speaking to the choir, spread the word, pay it foward.

The other day one of the hangouters at the Shell, where there is keno,  found a keno ticket in the trash worth $300, somebody gambling without understanding the game or even knowing how to check!

savagegoose's avatarsavagegoose

i guess store owners may actually play more often than everyone else, as they are near the machine all day every day. but then theyre meant to getting their 5% or %10 whatever from everyoine els.

 

i cant believe the lax security going on in this place astounding 

MADDOG10's avatarMADDOG10

There is no law in the United States, or in Canada that prohibits a lottery retailer from purchasing lottery tickets. Just because they're retailers does'nt make them any different than the rest of us. If they win then so be it. Christ where are these peoples mind at anyway. So what they won a total of X amount of dollars, where is the fraud in that? What about the amount of money that thet've lost. They have'nt won a major game there, so what is all the fuss about...  These type of investigations are so lame, like a lot of the politicions....!

RJOh's avatarRJOh

Quote: Originally posted by jeffrey on Jun 12, 2007

There is no punishment anymore. Where is the hot tar and feathers. Oh for the old days when they cut a hand or nose off.

Are those the days when God fearing people would burn other people alive for thinking the earth was round or for being accused of witchcraft?

justxploring's avatarjustxploring

I guess I need to read this article over and over again.  I don't see anything that says she stole the tickets from customers.  Where's the crime?  I also don't see why, just because someone was in financial trouble, it makes a difference.  So if I lost my home and was totally broke, would that mean a lottery win would be investigated?  Maybe this isn't the whole story.  Winning 8 times is a lot, but not a crime, unless there is evidence one was actually committed.

"Are those the days when God fearing people would burn other people alive for thinking the earth was round or for being accused of witchcraft?"

For a while there, I thought that's what the current administration was attempting to do!

jarasan's avatarjarasan

Quote: Originally posted by justxploring on Jun 12, 2007

I guess I need to read this article over and over again.  I don't see anything that says she stole the tickets from customers.  Where's the crime?  I also don't see why, just because someone was in financial trouble, it makes a difference.  So if I lost my home and was totally broke, would that mean a lottery win would be investigated?  Maybe this isn't the whole story.  Winning 8 times is a lot, but not a crime, unless there is evidence one was actually committed.

"Are those the days when God fearing people would burn other people alive for thinking the earth was round or for being accused of witchcraft?"

For a while there, I thought that's what the current administration was attempting to do!

I said that in the first post I did the same thing I read it a couple of times and didn't find the WHAT THE FRAUD they're talking about.

On a side note. JX why would you make an accusation about the current administration trying to burn people alive?  Can you give us an example?  Because I can give you several examples of prior administrations actually burning people alive. Dresden, Hiroshima, Nagaski, and  who was in charge then?  Or is it that, when we defend ourselves and the "left bunch of jerks" are in charge it's OK? LOL justcurious aka. curious jarasan.

Cr4zyH0rs3

Example some sales agents know when to scam and know when not to scam, that is truly the question here.

Although some agents are decent there are good & bad in everyone including agents they are'nt any diffrent in this day & age trust no- one and I mean no-one. (My mom always told God rest her soul) The only two true freinds you have in the World is your Mother and the last dollar in your pocket.

spy153's avatarspy153

Quote: Originally posted by RJOh on Jun 12, 2007

Are those the days when God fearing people would burn other people alive for thinking the earth was round or for being accused of witchcraft?

Green laugh yeah, that evil withcraft of giving the sick an asprin.

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