Roommate accused of stealing winning $10 million lottery scratcher

[bcla]

So the claim is that someone bought an expensive $30 scratcher lottery ticket in California and he told his two roommates after he thought he won $10,000. He then takes it to the lottery office in Sacramento trying to claim it, only they tell him it's not valid and has been altered. He then reports it to the local police indicating that he believes his ticket might have been stolen and replaced with an altered ticket. Later on his roommate goes to the same office and finds that this ticket is a $10 million prize. However, for prizes this big they always go to video, and they've received a report from the Vacaville PD of a possible theft.

https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article224111270.html
https://www.kcra.com/article/vacavi...lar10m-scratcher-tries-to-cash-it-in/25817708
https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area...ning-lottery-ticket-later-arrested/1692669989
The Vacaville Police Department says the lucky winner bought a $30 lottery ticket on Dec. 20 at a grocery store on Peabody Road -- and believed he had won $10,000. The man went home and told his roommates, police say. The next day, he took his ticket to the lottery office in Sacramento, where officials told him his ticket was not a winner and that it had been altered. The man believed one of his roommates had stolen his winning ticket, so he filed a report with police.

The following day, police say the man's roommate tried to cash in the actual winning ticket at the same Sacramento lottery office -- and was told the ticket was worth $10 million.

After investigating the ordeal, police say the man's roommate, 35-year-old Adul Saosongyang, had purchased another scratcher lottery ticket, altered it and switched it out for his roommate's winning lottery ticket.

When the suspect went to collect his winnings, he was met by Vacaville police officers who arrested the man on a grand theft charge.

It's unclear whether the original lottery winner will be able to collect his winnings -- police say state lottery officials are still conducting an administrative investigation.​

Now this is where I kind of wonder. Some people give lottery tickets as gifts. The California Lottery even had a Christmas commercial showing an apartment dweller buying scratchers and giving them as gifts to other tenants in her building. Others have asked me to buy lottery tickets for them, and I've occasionally received one as a gift (my insurance agent packed a $1 lottery ticket with a mini-calendar every year). Since they go to security video to validate who purchased a ticket, what's to keep someone who bought a ticket as a gift or on behalf of another party from claiming that it was stolen once they realize it won a big prize? There would be that security video to back up the claim. Now I suppose most people wouldn't be duplicitous like that, but if it's worth millions of dollars anything could happen.

 

[kdonnel]

Georgia has had a big push to remind people to sign their tickets as soon as possible after purchase to try and prevent the he said she said situations like this. A signed ticket would bolster the original scratchers case.

 

[sam_gordon]

So the claim is that someone bought an expensive $30 scratcher lottery ticket in California and he told his two roommates after he thought he won $10,000. He then takes it to the lottery office in Sacramento trying to claim it, only they tell him it's not valid and has been altered. He then reports it to the local police indicating that he believes his ticket might have been stolen and replaced with an altered ticket. Later on his roommate goes to the same office and finds that this ticket is a $10 million prize. However, for prizes this big they always go to video, and they've received a report from the Vacaville PD of a possible theft.

https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article224111270.html
https://www.kcra.com/article/vacavi...lar10m-scratcher-tries-to-cash-it-in/25817708
https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area...ning-lottery-ticket-later-arrested/1692669989
The Vacaville Police Department says the lucky winner bought a $30 lottery ticket on Dec. 20 at a grocery store on Peabody Road -- and believed he had won $10,000. The man went home and told his roommates, police say. The next day, he took his ticket to the lottery office in Sacramento, where officials told him his ticket was not a winner and that it had been altered. The man believed one of his roommates had stolen his winning ticket, so he filed a report with police.

The following day, police say the man's roommate tried to cash in the actual winning ticket at the same Sacramento lottery office -- and was told the ticket was worth $10 million.

After investigating the ordeal, police say the man's roommate, 35-year-old Adul Saosongyang, had purchased another scratcher lottery ticket, altered it and switched it out for his roommate's winning lottery ticket.

When the suspect went to collect his winnings, he was met by Vacaville police officers who arrested the man on a grand theft charge.

It's unclear whether the original lottery winner will be able to collect his winnings -- police say state lottery officials are still conducting an administrative investigation.​

Now this is where I kind of wonder. Some people give lottery tickets as gifts. The California Lottery even had a Christmas commercial showing an apartment dweller buying scratchers and giving them as gifts to other tenants in her building. Others have asked me to buy lottery tickets for them, and I've occasionally received one as a gift (my insurance agent packed a $1 lottery ticket with a mini-calendar every year). Since they go to security video to validate who purchased a ticket, what's to keep someone who bought a ticket as a gift or on behalf of another party from claiming that it was stolen once they realize it won a big prize? There would be that security video to back up the claim. Now I suppose most people wouldn't be duplicitous like that, but if it's worth millions of dollars anything could happen.

But the roommate isn't claiming the original buyer gave it to him as a gift, right? He's claiming that he bought the winning ticket. Security footage would show him buying a ticket, and I'm guessing which ticket, so it would be obvious to show he's not entitled to the winning one.

But if I buy and give you a ticket and it turns out to be a winner and I claim you stole it from me, aside from your possession of the ticket, there's got to be some more facts backing up my claim. Sounds like a lot of thought going into something that rarely happens.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Betcha they won't be roomies that much longer.

 

[bcla]

But the roommate isn't claiming the original buyer gave it to him as a gift, right? He's claiming that he bought the winning ticket. Security footage would show him buying a ticket, and I'm guessing which ticket, so it would be obvious to show he's not entitled to the winning one.

But if I buy and give you a ticket and it turns out to be a winner and I claim you stole it from me, aside from your possession of the ticket, there's got to be some more facts backing up my claim. Sounds like a lot of thought going into something that rarely happens.

It was more of a thought that they system can be gamed. I've heard of security camera validation when it comes to these games. There have been occasional broadcasts of security camera footage where there was an unclaimed prize and lottery officials release video just in case the buyer (or someone who knows the buyer) sees it.

The oddest case I recall was when an employee of a store accepted a lottery ticket for validation, found that it was eligible for a big prize, told the customer that it didn't win (would you like me to throw it away?), and then tried to claim the prize. But in that case I was under the impression that an employee of a particular store isn't allowed to personally cash in lottery tickets from that store. Kind of how card dealers at a particular casino aren't allowed to play there.