Do you trust your store clerk with your lottery ticket?
Maybe you've won a few hundred bucks or more. Will the employee tell you — or pocket the ticket while telling you it's a loser?
That happened this week at a Fort Myers store, according to the Lee County Sheriff's Office. A Winn-Dixie Liquors employee is accused of keeping a customer's $600 winning ticket — and paying him only 5 bucks.
Crystelle Yvette Baton was charged with larceny grand theft on Monday.
Baton, 42, was caught because she scammed the wrong customer, cops say.
The man wasn't a customer — he was an agent working undercover for the Florida Lottery Commission's security division.
When the undercover agent approached Baton with the winning ticket, she scanned it and realized it was worth $600. But instead of telling the man, investigators said she quietly pulled $5 out of her purse and told the man that was the "winning" ticket's payoff.
Shortly after, the agent went back to the store to bust Baton. The winning ticket was found hidden in her notebook.
Seems the Lottery Commission makes these kind of random visits to sellers to make sure the games are played properly.
"Anyone that is working in a customer service job, you think that they are doing what is in your best interest. I would be very upset if someone took that from me," Winn-Dixie customer Nadina Puzic said.
A reader, posting on the NBC2 website on Wednesday, said the scam isn't unusual. "This is much more common than you would think. I put my name on the back always, and always notice when the cashier checks the back before she determines whether it won something or not. A favorite trick, pretend to throw ticket away after telling someone they did not win anything, and then when they leave, pull it out of the trash and collect."
Jacksonville-based Winn-Dixie responded with a statement:
"We are taking this matter very seriously as the trust and safety of our customers is our highest priority. The associate's employment has been terminated."
Baton posted a $5,000 bond on Tuesday. Her trial date is set for Feb. 26.
The lesson, even if it gnaws at you a bit for not trusting your fellow human: Make use of the Florida Lottery Commission's electronic checkers that are placed on the counters near the lottery machine. You'll save time, too, if there's a line.
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Ain't she a sight for sore eyes? No.
Too bad more states didn't have undercover operations or we just know know about them. Can only recall a handful off the top of my head.
Minnesota has self check scanners.
No need to have a crooked store clerk "check" them.
If it's over $500, go to a local lottery office and collect.
If it's too high, the lottery officials may have to go to lottery headquarters to collect.
This stuff has happened before. I hope the law gets harsher for this type of crime.
l bet that lottery investigator got an adrenaline rush when he nailed her. Why?.. in speaking to some cops, they said that if fellow officers are under fire & they are in pursuit to the scene, an adrenaline rush kicks in, its not asked for, it just flows in.
Thank goodness CT has self ticket scanners. We also have an app to download to our phone to see if we are a winner.
Shame on her!!
I had a similar experience.
I played the winning number, but, didn't get the ticket.
I still had my play slip, so I went back to the store, asked the clerk, where is my ticket?
He said, "I don't have it"? I said, I have the play slip with the winning number on it that I played, but, I don't have the ticket"? I just left this store, so, check behind the machine.
He said, "It's not here".
I was like, I know you got that ticket, and I hope you needed it more than I did.
So, now, even if the line long, I stand there and check all my tickets ,and make sure they match my play slips.
It was a winning ticket, for, $350.00 off pick 3.
Good Luck
Wonder how many times she did this before she got caught. Somebody might have reported her. Glad they caught her.
Excellent point!
Maybe the self checking scanner wasn't on-line or working. We like to play in Indiana and more often than not the scanner is conveniently not working in the greater New Albany, IN stores. Then you give it to the clerk to check...
Now Crystelle Yvette Baton will be working in a rat hole of a store in the seedy side of town. That is if she gets hired. It will take years to correct her employment history.
Why would any LP Member not use USAMEGA and Lottery Post to check their numbers?
On toward a billion dollar jackpot!
Every Winn Dixie in FL I've been to have self scanners. Also if a winning ticket is scanned by a cashier the terminal will make CHACHING! sound. Whenever the self scanners are down. I go to another store! So many stores in Florida!
florida lotto needs to put a better system in place. when the clerk scans the tickets i want to hear music playing and winner or not a winner the screen. its there but not noticeable enough . ontario has it and its hard to not noticed you won or lose.
They turn down the volume so you don't hear the music of a winning ticket....
So you played, paid for your ticket, but didn't get it? Hmmm.
oh ok thanks they must have ! i did not know.
Really????? Learned something new. Thanks.
Sad story someone would do that. Georgia has self-scanners in many if not all stores. Georgia Lottery also has a cell phone app with a built in scanner.
All anyone has to do is, go online on their laptop or phone and Google, whatever state lottery. You can then get the winning numbers directly from the state lottery website. You can usually even watch the drawing.
And if the clerk gives you any crap whatsoever about your ticket in any way, you can just say, "Well, then I'm going to call the lottery office..." Do it in front of him. As soon as he hears you start to explain the problem, watch how fast he tries to make it right. (The phone number will be on the lottery website.)
Remember, he doesn't want to lose his lottery license because if he does, he's going to lose customers, and business.
I wouldn't take that as a clerk has your ticket. He could have mistakenly handed your ticket to the next customer or the ticket could of fell out after you exit the store. I think the fraud occurs when the ticket you hand them after the draw date is a winner and the clerk decide to jip you. Thoughts?
Using the tickets that printed, I would have determined the serial number of the missing ticket, and informed the clerk and the the lottery office that if that ticket got cashed, it was theft.
"Baton posted a $5,000 bond on Tuesday. "
So she tried to Steal $600 but then ends up having to have to pay $5,000.00 for her dishonesty. She got what she deserved. These are just the small percentage of people that have got caught it's a shame to think about all the ones who have gotten away. All for greed and money some people will do so much lying, and fraud
At least once a week I either watch clerks try to rip off players or they try to rip me off. Just today, I cashed in $8 worth of winning Keno tickets, saw the monitor show $5, $2, and $1 winners and the clerk handed me $3. The sad part was the clerk actually tried to pretend there was no $5 winner and said it was in the trash even though I saw them place all three tickets on the cash register. When I asked for the old ticket, it was "oh sorry about that, I made a mistake".
If state lotteries are really concerned about store clerks cheating players, sell all their drawn games online.
"Maybe the self checking scanner wasn't on-line or working."
I'm pretty sure that you can buy a lottery ticket even if you're not a rocket scientist. Or if you're a rocket scientist, but just don't know much about the lottery. I expect that there are plenty of people, especially those who only play occasionally, who don't know about the scanners.
"I think the fraud occurs when the ticket you hand them after the draw date is a winner"
There's a bit more risk in stealing a winning ticket than keeping one that has only just been sold, but stealing tickets that probably aren't going to be winners isn't exactly a great way to put money in your pocket. It will vary from game to game, but how many tickets would you need to steal in order to put $25 in your pocket?
The rational conclusion is that the clerk made an honest mistake, or that it's a case of player error.
"if that ticket got cashed, it was theft."
Or whoever cashed it in found it on the floor or in the parking lot after the player dropped it.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where I live, and the state of New Hampshire, also have self check ticket scanners at stores that lottery customers can use.
Regards,
Kosh
SCEL-The play slip is not a valid receipt or proof of purchase. THE PRINTED. TICKET IS ...
Just a lack of integrity....You can't fix the gormless people.
most clerks in my town are pretty honest.
butt i also check my tickets at the scanner.
i was in georgia once gave the clerk a ticket for 330 and he gave me 290 i called him on it and he gave the rest.
said he made a mistake.
Similar as well. I handed 5 play slips to the clerk, filled out for 5 plays each and paid for 25 plays. When I got home I only had 4 tickets. I checked my handbag, the floor, the walkway, my car...no 5th ticket. Drove back to the store, and of course the clerk said he gave it to me (but he didn't). While he was looking around the counter, trash and floor, I noticed that the little ticket printer had the corner of a piece of paper sticking up behind it. There was my ticket! Apparently when printing multiple tickets at the same time, it can sometimes push tickets off the back and they fall behind the printer. Learned my lesson that day and now I count my tickets in front of the clerk before I leave the store.
We have scanners here in New York also JADE. Gets rid of the fraudsters.