Florida officials have arrested a fourth person locally in its ongoing crackdown on store owners and employees who cheat customers out of lottery winnings.
Kamlawatie Persaud, 60, a clerk at Dave's Mini Mart at 10859 SE Maricamp Road, Ocala, was arrested Wednesday.
According to an investigator at the Florida Lottery Division of Security, the official went to the convenience store posing as a customer with a winning ticket valued at $599 and gave it to the clerk to scan. Persaud checked the ticket at the terminal, which indicated the ticket was valid. Persaud told the holder of the ticket that it was not good.
The official left the store and state agents soon arrived and asked Persaud for the winning ticket. The ticket was recovered and Persaud was arrested and taken to the Marion County Jail. She was released that evening in lieu of $2,000 bond.
Persaud could not be reached Thursday for comment.
Also arrested this week were:
- Ahmed Keshwari, 52, a clerk at Maruti Food Mart at 4201 NE Jacksonville Road. He was taken into custody on Monday and charged with grand theft. The winning ticket was found in his one of his pockets, officials said.
- Pina Patel, 43, and store owner, Vishnubhai Patel, 46, at the BP Jiffy Food Mart at 3350 SE 52nd St., Ocala. Both were charged with grand theft and solicitation and conspiracy.
All three have been released from the jail in lieu of bond.
A lottery official would not say how long the investigation would continue.
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OMG i knew it Mr Patel is arrested too WOW
All states with lottery should be doing this.
Here in Illinois, all our ticket sellers have their own scanning machines near the register for customers. I scan EVERY scratcher or jackpot ticket before I had it to the clerk. I ended up finding some winning scratcher I thought were losers and others with a bigger prize then I thought.
The scanners were put there for exactly the same reason as this article.
Yes, Ohio has them too. and I use them too, and am surprised by how many people I see still hand their ticket to clerk to check. when I mention the self scanner, I've been told, they don't trust the scanners.
Georgia has self-scanners. Georgia Lottery also has a phone app with scanner to check tickets available for download at https://www.galottery.com/en-us/home.html.
Another Patel arrested? Lot of minorities involved in those frauds for some reason.
It's a family tradition. It's very much like being a pirate. Jack Sparrow became one because Teague his Father was.
* Your winning ticket is a losing one,but why don't you hand it to me, l can dispose of it in this garbage container right here. No worries.
I'm guessing these tickets had to be scratch-offs because when a lottery ticket is found a winner, a little "Tada" jingle can be heard from the machine indicating a winner. I know his because I used to live in Floriduh.
What a mug shot!
ICE might be looking @ her, seems like they are on a rampage lately.
I thought for a quick second no Patel's...but was wrong.
Always scan my own tickets, IMO Indiana has the worst self scanners ever. Just bought my winning PB and or MM tickets there since we've had two back to back winning tickets in Kentucky.
Have a great weekend fellow LP members!
South Carolina need to!!! I was talking to a man a few months ago at the gas station. He was telling me he just cashed a ticket for $400. He told me he saw the same number more than 1X and he had a multiplier. This person go to the same store everyday because he don't know how to bubble in the tickets. I personally know this person so I know his situation and the owner of the store know what he can and can't do. My point is this man I believe actually hit for $1000 not $400. He told me the owner know him so well he just looked at his ticket and hand him $400 he didn't even check it on the machine.
I believe in free speech but dayum! That was one of the most racist comments I have ever seen on Lp.
Thank Goodness that we all know that Todd does not condone such nonsene so I will stay as a member, but shame on you! There is no way for you to know if Patel is a minority. Even if he is, so what? There are more non-minorities doing crimes everyday but are not blessed to find a jail cell as a home because of "white privilege".
I am offended and I'm sure many others are also..... White, Black, and others.
When I used to buy paper tickets instead of online I would check them myself with the numbers online and if I handed over a ticket I would always ask for it back.
Too many shady people. Once when I bought a ticket I saw a woman hand a clerk a ticket, he said no winner, tossed it untorn, the woman left and the clerk picket it out ouf the trash and scanned it again. Not with me! I want my money!