Winning the lottery is a dream come true for many individuals, but what do you do when a lottery outlet steals your winning ticket after validation?
3 Arrested and Found Guilty
3 members of the Chung family were arrested and found guilty of a lottery scam that netted them $12.5 million. The deception took a few years to come to a resolution.
Variety Plus in Burlington manager Kenneth Chung and his father, Jun-Chul conspired to pull off a scheme wherein they would steal and encash winning lottery tickets more than a decade ago. They stole tickets during an 8 month period that only ended in early 2004.
One of Jun-Chul?s stolen lottery tickets was the winning ticket for a Super 7 lottery worth $12.5 million. His daughter, Kathleen, was the person who claimed the winnings. They?ve been both convicted of possessing a stolen ticket and scamming the OLG.
It is to be noted that all 3 members of the Chung family who were involved in the lottery scam were cleared of trying to hide the money they stole in South Korean bank accounts.
Caught Red Handed
Kathleen Chung cashed the winning ticket at the convenience store managed by her brother, prompting an examination after several other insider wins. The police launched an investigation which led to the arrest of the 3 Chung family members in 2010.
The police seized family assets that are believed to have been bought using the stolen lottery winnings. The assets seized included 2 homes, 5 luxury vehicles, bank accounts, 3 commercial properties, and personal properties such as jewelry.
Rightful Winners Revealed
The OLG found out that a man named Daniel Campbell is the rightful owner of the winning ticket with a few other persons. Jun-Chul Chung was found to have kept one of the tickets that belonged to Campbell after validating it and seeing that it won $12.5 million in December 2003.
Jun-Chul then gave the ticket to his daughter Kathleen Chung for claiming at the OLG office in February 2004 but when Kathleen did so, said that she cannot remember where she bought her winning ticket. She ended up admitting that the manager and owner of the variety store where her ticket was checked is her brother but maintained that she bought it elsewhere. The OLG had suspicions but decided to pay out Kathleen?s claim in December 2004.
Later investigations revealed that Kathleen wasn?t where she claimed she bought the ticket at the correct time, which was supported by her phone records and the OLG?s computer files.
The winnings were given to the rightful winners 7 years after Kathleen?s fraudulent claim. The OLG is suing to recover the fraudulent payout. Sentencing is at the 3rd quarter of this year.
Scams and fraud are everywhere these days. It pays to be aware of both digital scams and fraud trends to avoid falling victim and to ensure that you?ll take the right actions should they happen to you. Make sure that you get your details right and seek the help of professional private investigators if needed. We?d be happy to schedule a consult with you.
