Four Indicted in Lottery Fraud Investigation

A grand jury today indicted four individuals in Louisville and Lexington on charges of lottery fraud. The indictments are part of an undercover investigation by the Kentucky Lottery Corporation. KLC personnel visited various lottery retailers and presented tickets that, when scanned at a lottery terminal, would instruct the store clerk to award a prize. KLC president Arch Gleason says there was reason to suspect certain retailers. “The 33 locations that were visited for the integrity testing" Gleason says "were locations which were identified because previously there had been either or a complaint by a player concerning dealings at those locations or there had been through our computer system identified claims by those individuals.”The indicted individuals told the undercover KLC employees the winning tickets were not, in fact, winners but later submitted them for payment from the Lottery Corporation.The four individuals were owners or clerks at three retail locations, including a mother and son. None of them have been arrested and their arraignments will be Tuesday, July 5.Commonwealth's Attorney David Stengel says “KRS Statutes governing the Lottery, specify felony offenses and give specific penalties if those laws are broken, the indictments returned today reflect those statutes and guarantee the integrity of the lottery.” Stengel also says these class B felony offenses carry a 10 to 20 year prison sentence and players should contact the KLC Security department with any concerns regarding prizes.