Undercover Kentucky Lottery investigation snares three store employees trying to steal prizes

Feb 28, 2019, 3:31 pm (22 comments)

Kentucky Lottery

An undercover operation conducted by the Kentucky Lottery has nabbed three store clerks trying to steal winning tickets.

A grand jury in Louisville has handed down indictments against three individuals charged with influencing the winning of a lottery prize through coercion, fraud, deception or tampering with lottery equipment or materials, and a separate charge of providing false information to a lottery investigator. The first charge is a class B felony carrying a possible sentence between ten and 20 years, while the second charge is a class D felony carrying a one to five year sentence.

The Kentucky Lottery's security department launched an Integrity Testing Program to determine if store clerks were following procedures for cashing winning tickets. During the investigation, undercover Lottery security personnel presented clerks with tickets that would scan at the terminal as $18,000 winners.  "When the tickets were presented, security personnel told the clerks he or she didn't know if any of the tickets were winners," said the KLC's Senior Vice President of Security Bill Hickerson. "It was up to the clerks to scan the tickets to see if they were indeed winners."

During this phase of the operation, Lottery security personnel went to 60 retailers in Louisville between February and July 2018. Some of the retailers were selected based on previous customer complaints or prior cashing activity, while others were randomly selected. Special tickets were produced by the Lottery's instant ticket provider (Scientific Games) for the operation. Internal alerts were received when someone attempted to cash them.

The results of the Integrity Testing Program were provided to the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office. Their staff presented two cases today against three defendants to the Jefferson County Grand Jury, and indictments were returned on:

  • Indrias Joseph, in conjunction with tickets presented at River Road Shell, 3002 River Road in Louisville.
  • Jinalben Savadara, in conjunction with tickets presented at Five Points Food Mart, 4548 Taylorsville Rd in Louisville.
  • Divyang M. Vyas, also in conjunction with tickets presented at Five Points Food Mart, 4548 Taylorsville Rd in Louisville.

Vadara and Vyas were indicted together, under the same case number. Their case will proceed in Division 13 of Jefferson Circuit Court. They will be arraigned on Monday at 3:30 p.m. Joseph's case will proceed in Division 7 of Jefferson Circuit Court. He will be arraigned on Monday at 11:30 a.m.

(See the full indictments)

"The Kentucky Revised Statutes governing the lottery specify what shall be the appropriate penalties if those persons accused of undermining the integrity of the Kentucky Lottery. In the spring of 2018, the Kentucky Lottery Corporation's security department met with prosecutors from our office to discuss this investigation. The indictments returned today by the Jefferson County Grand Jury are the result of the hard work of those investigators and prosecutors," said Commonwealth's Attorney Thomas B. Wine.  "Store clerks who do not follow Kentucky Lottery policies, cheat not only individual winners and the Kentucky Lottery but the people of the Commonwealth as  well."

"While I'm disappointed in the actions of these individuals, I continue to believe the overwhelming majority of our retailers and their clerks are honest in their dealings with our players," said KLC President and CEO Tom Delacenserie.

"There is a low-tech way and a high-tech way for players to always protect themselves whenever they have a winning ticket," he said. "When at a retailer, players should always sign the back of any tickets before they hand them over to be checked. Also, there are scanners at nearly all of our retail locations which allow you to scan a ticket to see if it's a winner without ever having to hand it over to anyone," he said. In addition, the Kentucky Lottery smartphone app allows plays to scan tickets with their phones to see if a prize has been won.

Players are encouraged to contact the Kentucky Lottery's security department through their Fraud Watch program if they feel they may have not been properly paid a prize. Information can be submitted by phone at (502) 560-1813 or via email at klcfraudwatch@kylottery.com. "We have the ability through our computer systems to quickly look at any single transaction. This allows us to investigate any activity on a ticket to determine what happened at the terminal during a transaction," said Hickerson.

Delacenserie said the Integrity Testing Program will continue with some modifications. "As it takes awhile for these cases to make their way through the legal system, we're taking steps to enforce consequences on retailers who keep winning tickets much more immediately," he said. "These tests continue to be performed, as we want players to be confident their experience at a retailer will be a positive one." As the operation is an ongoing security measure, no additional details will be released at this time.

Lottery Post Staff

Comments

Bleudog101

WTG KLC.  Certainly somebody not familiar with any lottery would say this is entrapment.  Greed is the word that comes to mind.  I love sting operations and hoping the alleged perpetrators get 3 hots and a cot vs probation.

Raven62's avatarRaven62

What is an honesty test?

An integrity test is a specific type of personality test designed to assess an applicant's tendency to be honest, trustworthy, and dependable. A lack of integrity is associated with such anti social behaviors as theft, violence, sabotage, disciplinary problems, and absenteeism.

noise-gate

CA lottery was super aggressive with this thing at one time,confiscating equipment, levelling charges on dishonest clerks, then people started complaining.Our Commission thought them too aggressive, whatever that means.Glad to see Ceo Mr Integrity Bill is on the job. Long may you reign.

Stack has got to be excited by these developing events, you can see it in the " whites in his eyes."Big Smile

Stack47

The Kentucky Lottery's security department launched an Integrity Testing Program to determine if store clerks were following procedures for cashing winning tickets.

I'd like to have a dollar for every time a clerk told me my ticket wasn't a winner when I knew for a fact it was. But usually it was because the clerk made a honest mistake. A lottery knowledgeable store owner told me it might be because the clerk didn't clear the machine or didn't scan the ticket correctly. That's not saying there are clerks hoping someone will not know the value of their ticket and either say it's worthless or only a small amount. 

Most store clerk jobs are minimum wage or just slightly higher, are employed by the owner of the store, and are not employees of the state lottery. IMO, the problem with this testing program is wrongly assuming all stores with lottery terminals educate their clerks on proper ticket cashing procedures or store owners even place a higher priority on selling lottery tickets. 

During the investigation, undercover Lottery security personnel presented clerks with tickets that would scan at the terminal as $18,000 winners. 

In KY only a few stores, designated cashing agents and reginal or lottery headquarters cash tickets valued over $600 and maybe the lottery should do a better job of educating their players.

Bleudog101

Regional stores that can cash lottery tickets can only go up to $5K; there is one seven miles from me.  (It's Convenient is the name of the store). 

Stack47

Quote: Originally posted by noise-gate on Feb 28, 2019

CA lottery was super aggressive with this thing at one time,confiscating equipment, levelling charges on dishonest clerks, then people started complaining.Our Commission thought them too aggressive, whatever that means.Glad to see Ceo Mr Integrity Bill is on the job. Long may you reign.

Stack has got to be excited by these developing events, you can see it in the " whites in his eyes."Big Smile

The current biggest problem in KY is funding teachers pensions, but trying to convict three store clerks of very questionable charges seems to be a top priority. A state legislator is trying to purpose a bill that would allow Internet gambling, including sports betting, and poker and use the profits to help fund teachers pensions. Even though it makes sense, it will never get out of committee.

There is a store near me that should be an "integrity" investigation target because they would cheat a player out of free ticket.

Stack47

Quote: Originally posted by Bleudog101 on Feb 28, 2019

Regional stores that can cash lottery tickets can only go up to $5K; there is one seven miles from me.  (It's Convenient is the name of the store). 

I meant regional office like the one in Lexington. Cashing agents can cash up to $5000 and should make someone trying to cash an $18,000 value ticket in a regular store very suspicious to clerks. Sort reminds me of underage alcohol and beer stings.

Bleudog101

Stack47, have you ever been to Derby City Gaming in Louisville?  There's another one near the TN border.   IMO they skirt the no slot machine law here.  They are all based on previous Horse races.   You can hit a button on the slot machine and it tells you the results of a horse race.  Wondering how much KY gets out of these??   One patron won $800 and had to pay taxes which I didn't understand until the horse race nonsense was explained to me by an employee.  The same patron said he won $4K and no taxes taken out.  Guess I'm old school and used to taxes over $1199.00

Beshear running for Governor wants to put casinos in KY, unless that rhetoric has died out. 

oate's avataroate

Quote: Originally posted by Stack47 on Feb 28, 2019

The Kentucky Lottery's security department launched an Integrity Testing Program to determine if store clerks were following procedures for cashing winning tickets.

I'd like to have a dollar for every time a clerk told me my ticket wasn't a winner when I knew for a fact it was. But usually it was because the clerk made a honest mistake. A lottery knowledgeable store owner told me it might be because the clerk didn't clear the machine or didn't scan the ticket correctly. That's not saying there are clerks hoping someone will not know the value of their ticket and either say it's worthless or only a small amount. 

Most store clerk jobs are minimum wage or just slightly higher, are employed by the owner of the store, and are not employees of the state lottery. IMO, the problem with this testing program is wrongly assuming all stores with lottery terminals educate their clerks on proper ticket cashing procedures or store owners even place a higher priority on selling lottery tickets. 

During the investigation, undercover Lottery security personnel presented clerks with tickets that would scan at the terminal as $18,000 winners. 

In KY only a few stores, designated cashing agents and reginal or lottery headquarters cash tickets valued over $600 and maybe the lottery should do a better job of educating their players.

IMO, the problem with this testing program is wrongly assuming all stores with lottery terminals educate their clerks on proper ticket cashing procedures

This operation is correctly designed to only bust dishonest clerks because the clerks' intention to defraud was evidenced by them taking the tickets to the claim center to redeem for themselves. An honest but dumb clerk who didn't understand how to use the scanner or know jack about cashing procedures wouldn't go that far, and so they wouldn't get arrested and indicted for fraud in this sting, maybe just sent to a re-education camp. Wink

Big Joey

There's a lot of dishonest cashiers behind the counters at convenience stores. 

Stack47

Quote: Originally posted by Bleudog101 on Feb 28, 2019

Stack47, have you ever been to Derby City Gaming in Louisville?  There's another one near the TN border.   IMO they skirt the no slot machine law here.  They are all based on previous Horse races.   You can hit a button on the slot machine and it tells you the results of a horse race.  Wondering how much KY gets out of these??   One patron won $800 and had to pay taxes which I didn't understand until the horse race nonsense was explained to me by an employee.  The same patron said he won $4K and no taxes taken out.  Guess I'm old school and used to taxes over $1199.00

Beshear running for Governor wants to put casinos in KY, unless that rhetoric has died out. 

The Red Mile has the same type of "slot machines" and 2 weeks ago someone won a $379,372 jackpot.

Loosechange45

I just check my own ticket.  3x's have i been told they were not winners one was for 10$ but one was for 100$. I only go to big chain  stores to cash out my ticket.. the convenience stores seem to be  where the problems happen. One time the guy said my tix wouldn't scan  he was going to keep it I said I wanted it back it was 1$ winner.

Bleudog101

Quote: Originally posted by Stack47 on Feb 28, 2019

The Red Mile has the same type of "slot machines" and 2 weeks ago someone won a $379,372 jackpot.

Now there are least four of them in KY.  In Oct 2018 a Judge ruled that these machines which resemble slot machines are legal because they offer pari-mutuel wagering on old horse races.

noise-gate

Quote: Originally posted by Big Joey on Feb 28, 2019

There's a lot of dishonest cashiers behind the counters at convenience stores. 

Dishonesty exists everywhere. There are lots of honest clerks who work at convenient stores though. I guess they have been trained & warned to " stay on the straight & narrow" or else it's lockup.The mere thought of being thrown in with the general population in prison, is hair raising to say the least.Crazy

Then being told not to " drop the  soap" if you ever end up there, reinforces their commitment to be honest, this side of prison.Yes Nod

Artist77's avatarArtist77

Quote: Originally posted by oate on Feb 28, 2019

IMO, the problem with this testing program is wrongly assuming all stores with lottery terminals educate their clerks on proper ticket cashing procedures

This operation is correctly designed to only bust dishonest clerks because the clerks' intention to defraud was evidenced by them taking the tickets to the claim center to redeem for themselves. An honest but dumb clerk who didn't understand how to use the scanner or know jack about cashing procedures wouldn't go that far, and so they wouldn't get arrested and indicted for fraud in this sting, maybe just sent to a re-education camp. Wink

Exactly!  I agree. The arrests are based on solid evidence.

EdG1955

Arizona lottery terminals used to play a jingle "We're in the money" when clerks scanned a winning ticket for you.  This prevented the type of fraud that occurred in Kentucky.  Sadly, the terminals were reprogrammed and no longer play the jingle, thus enabling thievery by dishonest clerks.

TheGameGrl's avatarTheGameGrl

Signing the ticket? On 100$ payouts...our stores no longer send in the ticket. They get. Proudly put up on a winners board. So explain how signing it prevents thievery? It doesn't. 

I think most thief's are honest. They will honestly take your goods and lie about it. 

I did like the poster who said they'd cheat ya out of a free ticket. That was funny...cuz it's true!

Big Joey

Quote: Originally posted by TheGameGrl on Mar 2, 2019

Signing the ticket? On 100$ payouts...our stores no longer send in the ticket. They get. Proudly put up on a winners board. So explain how signing it prevents thievery? It doesn't. 

I think most thief's are honest. They will honestly take your goods and lie about it. 

I did like the poster who said they'd cheat ya out of a free ticket. That was funny...cuz it's true!

Cashiers know that it only takes one ticket to possibly win, so that one dollar may be lucky, & they also use the tip jar money for tickets too. They also like to keep the number zero & fifty scratchers ticket for themselves, they don't like to sell the first, & last one of the book. I had a cashier once attempt to steal a $500.00 Easy Match winner from me, I played Easy Five, with Easy Match, & the cashier dropped the ticket on the floor, I saw it flutter. She printed me another one. I walked out, and called the lottery office. That place is now long closed, because they could not sell tickets anymore.

Tnol9

Reading these makes my heart hurt. I work at at quick stop with lottery and it’s agiasnt policy to play lottery on the clock, granted that doesn’t stop employees. At my stop we stopped selling scratchers behind the counter and now we can only get them from the machine. At our sister store we had a guy nearly have stroke (LOL) when he went to cash in a $10 payout and the cashier came back and said it was actually a $10,000 winner! They’re still honest workers out there and I hope you encounter them more then these guys! 

 

Good luck!!

Murgatroyd

Quote: Originally posted by EdG1955 on Mar 1, 2019

Arizona lottery terminals used to play a jingle "We're in the money" when clerks scanned a winning ticket for you.  This prevented the type of fraud that occurred in Kentucky.  Sadly, the terminals were reprogrammed and no longer play the jingle, thus enabling thievery by dishonest clerks.

There's also been a positive change recently: the self-scanners now show the prize amount, rather than just "Winner - see clerk".

Stack47

Quote: Originally posted by Murgatroyd on Mar 6, 2019

There's also been a positive change recently: the self-scanners now show the prize amount, rather than just "Winner - see clerk".

I check my tickets using the lottery vending machines so I know their value and because I know I can only cash tickets worth over $600 at cashing agents or lottery regional headquarters I'll never hand them to just "any-ole-clerk".

Even without having vending machines, every store has a scanner and probably why clerks in just two stores out of 60 thought they could get away with stealing the tickets.

LottoLucy's avatarLottoLucy

Quote: Originally posted by Stack47 on Mar 6, 2019

I check my tickets using the lottery vending machines so I know their value and because I know I can only cash tickets worth over $600 at cashing agents or lottery regional headquarters I'll never hand them to just "any-ole-clerk".

Even without having vending machines, every store has a scanner and probably why clerks in just two stores out of 60 thought they could get away with stealing the tickets.

Have you used the Kentucky Lottery app to scan tickets?  Just wondering if it is pretty stable or if it crashes a lot.

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