Couple worked together to steal and cash lottery tickets worth thousands
Includes video report
By Kate Northrop
TOLEDO, Ohio — An Ohio woman pleaded guilty to charges related to stealing over $89,000 in lottery tickets from her workplace and even started a fire in the store to destroy evidence.
An Ohio woman may spend nearly two years in prison after prosecutors unearthed a lottery scheme that resulted in more than $89,000 in stolen lottery tickets.
Traci Weills, 37, of Toledo is due to be sentenced later this month for a series of thefts she committed between 2023 and 2024 with the aid of her husband.
She was accused of stealing over $89,000 worth of lottery tickets from the store she managed, Main Stop on South State Street in Pioneer, and additionally thieved $2,500 in store merchandise, altered business records, and forged pull-tab receipts. More specifically, she manually changed records in the Ohio Lottery Commission telecommunications systems.
She was also alleged to have taken extreme measures to conceal the thefts and destroy evidence, which included lighting a cardboard box of pull-tab receipts on fire while customers were still present in the retailer, subsequently resulting in three aggravated arson charges.
Originally facing a total of 13 charges, she pleaded guilty to four, prosecutors said.
The scheme was carried out with help from her husband, Kevin Weills, who is also facing charges. Traci would give the lottery tickets she stole to Kevin, who attempted to cash in over $46,000 in winnings, she said in an indictment.
He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of grand theft and one count of engaging in corrupt activity, according to court documents.
As part of her plea deal, she pleaded guilty to telecommunication fraud, two counts of theft, and attempting to engage in a pattern of corrupt activity, according to court records, and her charge was changed from a first-degree to a third-degree felony, which carries a lighter overall possible prison sentence and fine.
Traci awaits her sentencing on July 14. Prosecutors said they recommend she spends 23 months in prison, WTVG reported, while Kevin's jury trial is set for late July.
VIDEO: Watch the report
She must not be a regular reader of lottery post because if she was then she would know the only ones who win scratchers are the oblivious dumb luck souls.
Her husband is 6'8 that's a whole lot of Bear to feed and she is 5'10 no small fry herself. They should have just stuck to stealing food from the store but they got to thinking and we know how that turned out
* Traci looks like a librarian while Kevin comes off as a bouncer outside a Tony Soprano kinda joint. Opposites attract, big time.
" manually changed records in the Ohio Lottery Commission telecommunications systems "
Houston, we have a problem.
Goofy!
I see people stealing all the time.
Regardless of all the camera's!
Shameful!