Gas station clerk stole $1 million lottery ticket from customer, TN sheriff says

RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Tennessee man was surprised to learn that he won $1 million after a store clerk allegedly stole his lottery ticket.

The customer, an Antioch father who did not want to be identified, bought two scratch-off tickets at a Shell gas station in Rutherford County on July 13. Both tickets were winners: one was worth $40, while the other was worth $1 million.

After scratching off the barcodes, authorities said the customer handed the tickets to the store clerk, 23-year-old Meet Patel.

"The victim in this case only scratched off the barcode at the bottom, and that will tell you if it's a winner or not, but it will not tell you how much you've won," Detective Lt. Steve Craig told Nexstar's WKRN. "So scratch off the entire ticket and make sure you keep your eyes on your ticket until it's scanned."

The sheriff's office said Patel returned one of the winning tickets to the customer along with a $40 prize and placed the other ticket in the trash.

Store video obtained by detectives showed Patel later taking the $1 million ticket out of the trash and putting it in his pocket. Patel allegedly tried to claim the prize from the Tennessee Lottery, but employees were suspicious.

"He couldn't provide certain things to the lottery commission, such as a proper identification or any bank information," Craig said, adding that Patel raised enough red flags for lottery officials to investigate.

Tennessee Lottery investigators Vic Donoho and Greg Heiman worked with the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office to get the ticket back to its rightful owner. Craig and Detective Dennis Ward identified the father after reviewing surveillance video and contacted him with the news.

The customer was initially skeptical about his winnings, but the detectives eventually convinced him to claim his prize.

“He was very thankful,” Craig said.

The sheriff's office said Patel was arrested and charged with theft of over $250,000.