Store Worker Tries to Steal Winning Lotto Ticket

A liquor store clerk nearly got away with stealing a winning lottery ticket, worth over $800, from a group of Bochurim who had brought it in to authenticate their win.

On Motzai Shabbos, a group of French Bochurim, who are in Crown Heights studying in a local Yeshiva for the year, realized that a Take-5 lottery ticket they had purchased last week had many numbers that matched the drawing numbers.

Unsure how much they won, they went to the Tung Cheng Liquor store on the corner of Kingston Avenue and S. Johns Place to check their ticket. The clerk informed them that they had won $859, and asked them what they wanted to do. They responded that they did not want to claim the prize at the moment.

The clerk then handed them back their ticket, but they suspected something was not right and they immediately went to another bodega to have their ticket checked. The clerk there informed them that the ticket had already been claimed and was worthless.

Armed with a receipt showing it had already been claimed, the group returned to the Tung Cheng Liquor store and – with their cameras rolling – they confronted the clerk. At first he feigned ignorance, claiming to not know what they were talking about, but once they informed him the police were coming and that he was being filmed, he suddenly “found” the claim ticket and returned it.

By then police officers from the 77th Precinct had shown up, and once they heard the story they said there was nothing they could do since the clerk returned the ticket.

Glad they had retrieved their ticket, the group went to the New York lottery headquarters in Manhattan on Monday and successfully claimed their winnings.

Attempts to reach the liquor store by phone for comment were unsuccessful, and our messages were not returned.

In a conversation with CrownHeights.info, Lee Park, a spokeswoman for the New York State Gaming Commission, said โ€œthe State Gaming Commission expects all licensees to operate legally and honestly, and investigates all complaints of misconduct. We will fully investigate this matter and take whatever action is deemed necessary, including license suspension or revocation.โ€

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6 Comments

  • This is nuts

    All the people in that area should go back and check their tickets. This guy may have pulled off this trick several times in the past.
    The Commission should revoke his license now.

  • how old?

    This clerk looks like he’s a minor, either he’s working in the liquor store illegally or looks 10 years younger than he actually is…

    • Anonymous

      Why does his age make a difference?! U can be a criminal at 10 or 100.

  • Arieh

    What we do in Ontario, is that the we sign the ticket before authenticating it, maybe also add a siman, like a cell number to prevent theft. Maybe a good idea to take a cell phone photo of it before handing it over.

  • Heter man

    No charge by police because he gave it back?

    Oh, that makes sense!

    So now I know that I can steal a police car and as long as I return it, I won’t be charged?!!

    Unless there is a different law for stealing from police than stealing from mere civilians.

    At the very least – this person should be charged with Attempt Fraud, as he actively tried to defraud the victims.