MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WDNews) – A convenience store clerk, Meet Patel, was arrested last week after stealing a $1 million lottery ticket from a Shell gas station.
The lottery winner bought two lottery tickets and asked Patel to check to see if they were winners. Patel handed the winner back the lottery ticket which had won $40, but placed the $1 million lottery ticket in the trash, saying it was not a winner.
Security camera footage shows Patel taking the winning lottery ticket from the trash and placing it in his pocket.
Later, Patel took the lottery ticket to the Tennessee Lottery’s Nashville headquarters to collect the winnings, but employees raised suspicion after a routine questioning process.
“He went to the Tennessee Lottery Commission to claim the ticket as his own and through their normal line of questioning there were enough red flags for them to say, ‘Hey, you need to get all of your affairs in order and come back to us and we’re gonna hold on to the ticket,’” said Lt. Det. Steve Craig.
The actual winner of the $1 million lottery ticket has been identified and has claimed the winnings.
Patel is currently being held on a charge of theft over $250,000 at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center where his bond is set at $100,000.
Patel’s hearing is scheduled for July 30.
