Rutherford County Sheriff’s detectives say that customer bought 2 $20 diamond and gold lottery tickets from the clerk. 23 year old meet Patel. As some lottery players do to save time. The customer just scratched off the front bar codes and then asked Patel to check if they were winners. If you scratch off the front bar code, it’ll tell you if it’s *** winner or not, regardless of whether you scratch off everything showing how much you’ve won. Lieutenant Detective Steve Craig says both tickets won, but Patel only handed the man back the $40 winner. He told him the other ticket lost. But in actuality, it was *** million dollar winner. He threw it on top of the trash as that gentleman left, he took the trash outside. And if you follow him on the camera, you can see him grab the ticket, put it in his pocket. Not long after that, Patel decided to try and claim the cash prize. He went to the Tennessee lottery commission to claim the ticket as his own. And through their normal line of questioning, they, there were enough red flags for them to say, hey, you need to get all your affairs in order and come back to us and we’re gonna hold on to the ticket. What Patel likely didn’t know is that lottery officials vet all big winners. And that includes checking security video of the tickets purchased, video in evidence that Craig says clearly shows the ticket was stolen. It’s pretty obvious, good enough for me to put it in front of 12 jurors and, and make sure that they all come to the same conclusion.
Advertisement
North Carolina man wins $1M using $20 bill he found in the parking lot to buy lottery ticket
Updated: 7:26 PM EDT Oct 25, 2024
A $20 bill lying on the ground outside a convenience store led a North Carolina man to purchase a lottery ticket, winning $1 million. “I found $20 in the parking lot outside the Speedway. I used that to buy the ticket,” he said.Related video above: Stolen lottery ticket returned to winnerThe master carpenter took the $20 and walked into the Speedway on N.C. Route 105 in Boone on Tuesday evening to buy an Extreme Cash scratch-off.“They actually didn’t have the ticket I was looking for, so I bought that one instead,” he said. He also said the first thing he would do with his lottery winnings: “We are going to head straight to Golden Corral and eat everything they’ve got.” When deciding how to receive his prize, he could choose to receive the prize as an annuity of $50,000 over 20 years or a lump sum of $600,000. He chose the lump sum of $600,000 and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $429,007. After the feast at Golden Corral, he plans to use the rest of his winnings to retire after working as a carpenter for 56 years. He said he also plans to help out his children.
A $20 bill lying on the ground outside a convenience store led a North Carolina man to purchase a lottery ticket, winning $1 million.
“I found $20 in the parking lot outside the Speedway. I used that to buy the ticket,” he said.
Advertisement
Related video above: Stolen lottery ticket returned to winner
The master carpenter took the $20 and walked into the Speedway on N.C. Route 105 in Boone on Tuesday evening to buy an Extreme Cash scratch-off.
“They actually didn’t have the ticket I was looking for, so I bought that one instead,” he said.
He also said the first thing he would do with his lottery winnings: “We are going to head straight to Golden Corral and eat everything they’ve got.”
When deciding how to receive his prize, he could choose to receive the prize as an annuity of $50,000 over 20 years or a lump sum of $600,000. He chose the lump sum of $600,000 and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $429,007.
After the feast at Golden Corral, he plans to use the rest of his winnings to retire after working as a carpenter for 56 years. He said he also plans to help out his children.
