By Todd Northrop
RALEIGH, N.C. — Less than two weeks after a North Carolina community college student smiled for the cameras and cashed in on a winning $1 million lotto ticket, police say it wasn't hers to claim.
"It's honestly just luck," Mikala Fields said as she accepted her prize July 2. "You actually can win."
But luck had nothing to do with it, according to a North Carolina Education Lottery investigation. The Lottery accused Fields of conspiring with her husband, Sean Mewherter, who works at the local Kangaroo Express and is accused of stealing the winning ticket.
Oak Island police have arrested Mewherter and charged him with larceny and possession of stolen goods over $100,000. The charges were announced by the N.C. Education Lottery.
Lottery officials said that after the award was announced, they were contacted by Mewherter's employer, Kangaroo Express in Oak Island, where he allegedly obtained the ticket. An investigation led to the charges and his arrest by police there.
"A lot of safeguards are in place to ensure lottery prizes are honestly won," Alice Garland, executive director of the NCEL, said in a statement Wednesday. "In this case, lottery players didn't get the chance they should have had to win that prize. So when the money is recovered it will be used as prize money in a future instant game."
No charges have been filed against Fields. When she accepted the prize, she opted for the after-tax lump sum, which rounded out to about $408,000. She told the lotto she planned to use the cash to buy a new home, a car and fund her nursing degree. Officials haven't said whether the couple managed to spend any of the cash before police intervened.
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Wonder how they conspired to find that winning ticket to begin with? What busy little bees they were.
No more honey for them.
Who did the winning ticket belong too ?
I was wandering how he knew it was a winning ticket..
Did someone try micro-scratching?
Let the conspiracy theories begin.
....oh, the deviousness of some people!
How were they caught? I am confused how they knew it was a false win????
Smart store owner. The commission isn't worth ruining your business reputation.
I suspect that NC-EL is not about to reveal it right now. In the courts though the lottery commission will have to present its evidence to the judge and jury.
If it is a case of stealing a winning ticket from a customer then the lottery commission can rest easy. If its the infamous "micro scratching" then its a nightmare for the lottery commission because of all the publicity. Firstly, many dishonest and or underpaid store clerks nationwide will be tempted to do it seeing that these two almost got away with it.
Its going to be interesting to see how it unfolds.
that person probably knew somebody at the ncel and they knew where the ticket was going and the ticket number. does that seem farfetched in today's society?
If that was the case (If the N.C. lotto decides to reveal this publicly), hope that doesn't start a widespread trend among crooked clerks to go having
a field day at our expense.
If this is becoming an epidemic, might be time for the scratchers to be re-designed to make then tamper proof.
Not at all. An inside job actually seems very plausible pick4master. That being the case, it seems only logical that the NCEL "mole"
, was also
promised a piece of the action.
The plot thickens!
Tamper-proof scratch tickets!
I can just imagine how they'd muck that up, like they did with "Child-proof" caps on medicine. Should've called them "Prove-you're-a-child caps", 'cause now the oldsters have to get their grandkids to open the bottles for them.
surely they would not have crooked people that worked for the ncel, would they???
Half the time I can't get the dam things open!
Perhaps an individual lock mechanism with each ticket, which requires an optic scan of your eye to open.
Anyone working at the retail establishment, would be required to have their optic scan on file, to render any stolen tickets useless.
Lordy, lordy no!!!
Just your garden variety of typical sleaze ball, low life, on the take, scum sucking government scamsters. 
400 plus after taxes? whewwwww........
What is the big deal?!
Obama steals everyday!
Never ending supply of cheaters.
I'm pretty sure their all mass produced at cheater factories somewhere in D.C.
not as much as bernie madoff and the rest of the boys on wallstreet.
The article is not about the US president Barack Obama, and your blatant accusation: " Obama steals everyday!" is baseless, unsurportable , cowardly and simply false.
There are means and mechanisms in place that allows you under the freedom of speech, and under the provisions of the law to vend your quarrels with the Obama administration, and this forum is beyond the scope of providing you the education for the realization of this releif.
It suffices however to note and to bring to your attention that this writer finds no maturity, class, style or sophistication in your gross reduction, and attempted hijack of the lottery theft story, and daring to convert it into a political and extra-judicial un-verifiable condemnation of the US president Barack Obama.
Your re-direction of the lottery theft topic is in effect, an implicit belief on your part that the readers of the Lottery Post are naive and poorly informed, and can be easily lured into joining you into a wholesale blanket condemnation of a President that is doing his best, at the Job that the majority of voters have empowered him to do
Your comments about president Barack Obama echoes your other hostile un-warranted comments about the NAACP a few days ago in the Lottery Post
I hope that these comments may impel upon you to consider the application of truth, maturity, fairness and justice in your comments about presdient Barack Obama and the NAACP and I hope that these are not pre-empted by a call-to-arms from you for the banning of the writer because you disagree with him, as the writer has often seen calls like that, made in these posts by veteran posters.
I agree with your comment fact.but we can all read between the lines on why some the members here attack president obama with baseless rants. I never hear anything about our vp and still wouldn't if he were the president.some of these guys live in 1780.look at the ad for obama to your left.makes ya say hmmmmmmmm.
Factor, I'd like to hire you as my attorney, WOW!
first things first...what an awesome post!
secondly, these people are all over internet, day and night, blaming obama for the smallest little thing that goes wrong their life. Never has a president been so disrespected.
i feel so sorry for the president that, i am hoping for a romney victory. I am dead serious!! Maybe they will shut the heck up!!!!!!
So, if she conspired with her husband to steal the ticket, why isn't she arrested as well? Why does she get a pass????
Welcome to the double standard.
This is an excellent question. Last I checked, conspiracy to commit a crime was also a crime.
Roger that!
Dadgum Straight!
"i feel so sorry for the president that, i am hoping for a romney victory. I am dead serious!! Maybe they will shut the heck up!!!!!!"
I'm with you!
Must have been that cute smile.
As for your VP, he is an embarrassment to the Country ................. and the 1st Amendment doesn't shut up anyone .................. and it is better than blaming Bush for everything .....................
It is better than blaming Bush for everything!
And talk about the lack of class ................. Obama ..................... verified every day .............. whining about "the rich" ............ the very people that keep the economy growing ............... and while the bottom 50% of taxpayers pay an average 1.85% of income in Federal Income Tax .......... and don't say "prove it", because you can do your own research ...............
The people in the article are very wrong for what they did, but the current Regime (a word used by the left in the 2008 election) acts without regard for what the Constitution actually outlines as law!
A tax for not purchasing something!
As for the NAACP, they need to concentrate on a hand up for every poor person not matter their race or ethnicity, not a hand out that perpetuates institutionalized poverty for the sake of vote purchasing!
The female in the post is treated as females commonly are, with preference! Recently, an attractive young woman from Pittsburgh got off with probation for her role in a Bank Robbery and Multiple Thefts at the Pittsburgh CAPA High School ................ because she is an attractive female.
The 1st Amendment allows me to comment on the behavior of Mr. Obama no matter your childish and sycophantic support of him because he is a minority ........... and also allows you to be childish and sycophantic in your rhetoric ................ thank you
and now
the current symbol of freedom!
What's with the stealing of lottery tickets all of a sudden... or is it just that suddenly the stolen tix are winners?
Sadly, again, none of these actions are going to return the money back to this game's other ticket buying client's pocket though (the ones who don't play scratchers anymore, OR may not have any discretionary funds remaining to continue as a scratch game ticket purchasing client)!
could be that they want you think there are $1million dollar tickets...
Excellent summation Factorem!!! Perhaps you should consider a gig in speech writing.
In NC just knowing about a crime second hand is not illegal. Now if she was actually involved in the stealing of the ticket they could charge her. If she knew it was stolen when she cashed it, she could be charged. IF she found out after the fact,.....?
No, actually, YOU'RE the laugh.
You've chosen an avatar to depict to your faithful fanclub of followers on here a lovable back-woodsman, way up in them thar Tenn. hills, sipping whiskey and spouting cornpone aw-shucks wisdom from way back in the holla'.
It's actually Walt Whitman---liberal poet, deist, probably homosexual, almost certainly an Obama voter if he were still around.
The <snip>s and giggles are all on YOU.
Just did a wiki search on whitman.and arrowhead is right about him.WOAH!!!!!!!!!! Will rdge now change his avatar?let's wait and see.
Actual Walt Whitman portrait, 1887.
theres a bridge connecting s.jersey w/ s. phila. pa. named after this guy,
Its part of I 76.
Don't know why its named for him,
I just call it the W.W.B.
Some traffic reporters call it "the walt"
This may be the greatest thing I have ever read here.
Oh, and
.
Walt Whitman died in Camden, N.J. That's the reason for the bridge name.
But don't take my word for it, just ask Rdgrunner, he's the Whitman expert...
And...
Thirteen flags for the orginal thirteen colonies. Thirteen is also my lucky number.
Oh my goodness graciousness!
Bonehead is a homophobe!
This isn't going to go over too well in the enchanted haunts, darling.
And I just don't understand it coming from you! Wasn't your father a dancer in Baton Rouge?
Go ahead and have a good laugh at people who treasure that flag, mediabratwurst.
Just make sure you do it from behind your computer screen and not in front of a man.
Unless you'd like to be spittin' out teeth.
Do it here, for all the effeminate anti-American pansies here like mcdoofus and Bonehead and yourself.
You gutless coward.
Homophobe? Couldn't care less. Just stating historical fact, available anywhere on the 'net. Nice deflection.
Back to your avatar---maybe a nice head shot of Roy Clark from Hee-Haw or the banjo-pickin' kid from Deliverance would serve you better for your 'country gentleman' line of bullsheeet on here, the 'gentleman' part of course getting dropped for anyone who dares vote any way other than yours.
Not a homophobe? Couldn't care less? Heh,heh,heh, methinks he doth protest too much.
So when you attacked me out of the blue for no reason and list everything derogatory you can think of, you included something of a congratulatory nature too?
It seems more likely you're still struggling with coming to grips with your father being a dancer in Baton Rouge.
Isn't it, Bonehead?
Just tell the Lottery Post world for all to see---did you know, given your well-established 'tolerance'
for those with differing political/philisophical viewpoints, you were actually using a picture of a liberal homosexual, someone who didn't believe in organized religion, right alongside that folksy, down-home, username of yours?
Oh, so now you're coming out against liberal homosexuals too? Are they beneath you?
Well then, why not go right ahead and address them with your concerns and how you think photos of them are to be used as devices of derision and scorn? Let them know that if you see them using a gay person's photo as an avatar, you'll single them out to be mocked and ridiculed. How utterly liberal of you! Will you leave them alone if they stay in the closet or do you demand that they be outed?
You're really not quite clear in your own mind what your own dominant persuasions are then, are you, Bonehead? If you've made anything clear, it's that.
Close your itzy bitzy eyes now, Bonehead, I'm going to show the flag.
Ah, now, you really didn't know did ya? All that mountain wisdom from up on 'ol Rocky Top and this is where it ends up? You're not sure who you want to pretend to be on here, toots, that's your problem, not mine. But it was mighty fine entertainment.
I love you too, sweetie. Come 'ere, give us a kiss!
Quick! We have to hide before Bonehead catches us!
Tee hee hee hee!
You gotta learn to be different from your Pap and Papaw and grow a pair, Bonehead.
Be the first quasi-male in your family to resist the inclination to tremble in fear at asserting yourself.
If you don't particularly care for minorities and gays, just say so.
Just admit you're a racist and a homophobe.
No, nobody will like or respect you, but let's face it, nobody likes or respects you anyway.
And I mean that in a nice way, Bonehead.
Have a nice day!
I find it interesting that people are ganging up on Ridge...
If you have bothered to actually read his posts in the forums or the blogs it would be seen CLEARLY that he is not racially based in his selection of politicians to favor, rather Ridge has firm beliefs and supports those who are more clearly aligned (or at minimum not diametrically opposed) with his. (and one of his front runners is female and a not white)
As for sexual orientation, what I have read is that Ridge prefers people to be honest with their likes-dislikes. Men to be men (which says nothing of sexual orientation) and women to be women (once again, saying nothing of sexual orientation).
So his icon-picture-thingie is similar to/approximating one of Whitman. and? whitman was the only man who had gray hair and a beard with a mind of its own? as to whether ridge is actually a back-woods-man or ever even saw the Appalachians... what difference does that make? we are in an online-world relating to others online. He is consistent and wackily enjoyable...
and yes I am part of his loyal fan-club.
Thank you for the kind words, Max.
I'm in your fan club too and I'm beholden to ya.
Yeah yeah yeah... you are just saying that cuz you liked the '3-beer' chili recipe.
and back on-topic... i'm still mystified over the current spate of lottery 1M$ thefts... so... 800k$ would fly under the radar???
I changed your recipe to "6 beer and 3 fingers o' Jack chili" Max, and if it ever gets outta the 90's here, I'm gonna make it.
Hell, I'm gettin' powerful thirsty just thinkin' about it!
Yeah,.... how did he know what it was worth???
Why wasnt she arrested? Guilt by association
Wimmins all the time gettin' off easy, luckyshoes.
Don't hardly seem right.
I got a bunch o' ex-wives livin' high on the hog and here I sit in the backwoods eatin' soup beans with squirrel meat.
I swear they was all makin' eyes at the judge.
You seem like a really nice woman, and your loyalty to someone who has been good to you speaks well to your character. Unfortunately, said loyalty is also misguided. Do you not see how he treats so many people around here?
It's like the schoolyard bully who always gets away with tormenting the other kids. For whatever reason, the teachers and the principal don't want to hear about it. Maybe they don't want to be seen as micromanaging. Maybe they're afraid of being sued if they intervene. Maybe they secretly don't like the nerds and the weaklings and they get some sort of enjoyment from seeing a bigger kid pick on them. Regardless, the bullying continues unabated. You'd think the other kids in the schoolyard would step in, but for some twisted reason most of them either don't want to get involved or they end up siding with the bully, making matters even worse. The bully feels empowered; he believes that since no one has a problem with what he's doing except the people he's doing it to, he's justified in his actions. The few people who do step in end up making themselves his next targets.
Eventually, though, his victims have had enough and they strike back. Perhaps they band together and they all take their shots. It might come off as bullying itself, but they don't see any other options. They can't ignore him; you'd think that by ignoring him, he'd get bored and go away, but unfortunately they're not that lucky. The bully just keeps pounding, and the lack of opposition makes him believe he's won. In the end, that's exactly right; if no one is willing to put a stop to the bullying, the only person who wins is the bully.
Does that help?
Can we stop the putting down of members and get back to the topic of the theft of $1 million dollars? Perhaps we should ask Todd to close this thread.
Ooooooh, another internet commando lib who threatens violence and then wants to take it all down to the Principal's Office when I accept the challenge.
I'm sure your drooling, leg-humping mongrel of a Pappy would be proud of ya, son!
Run along now boy, with your womanly ways and your touchy-feely, oh-so-sensitive, liberal nonsense.
You make me wretch.
"Can we stop the putting down of members and get back to the topic of the theft of $1 million dollars?"
I'm all for that, lil' darlin'!
And if you'll look back to see who started the personal attacks, you'll see that I was just defending myself against an attack by a homophobe when all the lib cowards piled on to see if they could get a sucker punch in while my back was turned. The poor souls... They're just too high-strung is all.
"Perhaps we should ask Todd to close this thread."
Wouldn't it be easier to just not read what you don't like instead of you deciding for everybody what they should be allowed to read?
Just sayin...
Oh? He doesn't "steal". What about the $500 mil that was given to his bundlers to invest in Solendra that went Tits Up? And we the tax payer got to eat the s***sandwich. If that ain't croynie capitalism and stealing from the tax payer I don't know what is!!!!!!!!!!
First, my apologies for the tardiness in responding.
Thank you very much for the compliments, and I promise not to wind up where Ridge, the Oracle of the Appalachian’s lawyer had wound up.
Regards!
"If it is a case of stealing a winning ticket from a customer"
It's not likely to be a case of stealing the ticket from the rightful winner. First, the lottery said "lottery players didn't get the chance they should have had to win that prize". Second, if it had been stolen from a customer they'd probably know who the real winner was, and they'd get the prize. Otherwise how would they know the ticket had been stolen?
"So, if she conspired with her husband to steal the ticket, why isn't she arrested as well?"
Maybe they know they can't prove the conspiracy. Maybe her only part was in saying she had bought the ticket, and her husband told her he wasn't suposed to buy tickets while working. Or maybe they're still trying to build a case against her.
wait... I'm not Ridge's lawyer... ooOOoo you werent meaning me... **oops**
Than whose lawyer are you Max.
LOLOL - well that would require passing the bar... which happily I can say I have not done... well bar passage and a few other peskie details too... but we will just let those slide. I mean... I can STOP AT the bar just fine...and order me my gin & tonic... but that 2 day exam on all those questions that they want object specific answers to? hmm... um.... not this year.
Sorry to hear that.
I'm sure there will be many disappointed potential clients. I have a couple of lawyer friends, who have some horror stories
about those notorious exams.
It takes some people several tries before they get even the minimum passing grade.
Well it's a loss for a law practice, but our gain to your the pleasure of your virtual company here!
mc... you are shoveling it deep there buddy! lol - minimum passing grade? i never quite thought of it that way... there is no real ranking to be seen for anyone to know how 'smart/educated' their potential lawyer is ... is there? that is scary... minimum passing grade...
Seriously Max......there is a ranking system that allows a firm to compare the legal I.Q's of a prospective lawyer.
I believe it was developed by some geek working over at Smith & Barney, Attorneys at Law.
Check it out. (This is the "layman's version"). 
I told my dh YEARS ago, prior to getting married, that in case of wanting to NOT be married any longer... he would hear from my representation at Smith & Wesson... we have never had any issues... (he actually laughed cuz he knew I didn't know how to HOLD a gun much less load, aim, and shoot it)
After tax lump sum and only end up with 408,000 dollars out of a million.....<snip> govment got 60%
mcginnin, you and maximumfun have a good sense of humor !
your signature line is funny! I liked that . And her about smith and wesson -lol
Thank you kindly luckyshoes!
It's always good to have one in this journey of life.
So I hear your a famous writer! Wonder if I've read any of your books?? Good luck this evening.
lol The only thing you can do is check their bar membership (most are online) and make certain they have do not have a disciplinary record and they still have a license to practice. There are some unofficial "rating systems" but they are pretty meaningless and 99.99 % end up with the same rating.
That formula reminds me of the ones from Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory....love that show.
All I can say is WOW! I saw this story, decided to read some of the comments to see if there was any more info to the story and ran into who knows what! I'll be better off spending my time trying to win the lottery than reading this BS.
Were always here for you udothemath, we like keeping our members informed, educated and amused all at a one stop shop.
Drop by again soon.
LOL
I agree, udothemath.
I was likewise shocked and appalled.