Mail carrier steals winning Florida lotto ticket meant to help cover funeral expenses: officials

(WFLA) — A United States Postal Service worker was arrested last week after a search for a missing lottery ticket led investigators back to her, the Florida Lottery announced on Friday. Court documents said the victim purchased a Pick 4 ticket from a 7-Eleven in Tampa on June 14 and went to a [...] A United States Postal Service employee from Broward County is facing multiple felony charges after investigators say she stole a winning Florida Lottery ticket from the mail and fraudulently claimed a $2,600 prize.Leer en españolAccording to the Florida Lottery, the case stemmed from a joint investigation by the agency’s Division of Security and the U.S.

Postal Service Office of Inspector General.Investigators said the investigation began after a Florida Lottery player reported that a winning Pick 4 ticket she mailed through the U.S. Postal Service never arrived at its intended destination.According to an arrest report, the winning ticket was purchased at a Publix store in Tampa and was worth $2,600. Because the prize exceeded the $599 maximum payout that can be claimed at a lottery retailer, the terminal instructed that the ticket be returned to the player, investigators said.They said the winner later mailed the ticket to a relative in Fort Lauderdale to help pay for another person’s funeral expenses, but the ticket was never successfully delivered.A Florida Lottery inspector determined the ticket was instead redeemed June 19 at the Florida Lottery’s Miami District Office by 28-year-old Lakaysha Kenya Lockhart.

Investigators later identified Lockhart as a USPS letter carrier assigned to the Oakland Park post office.According to her arrest report, Lockhart, who has listed addresses in Lauderhill and Hollywood, “was not known to, approved or authorized by the ticket owner” to redeem the winning ticket.Authorities said Florida Lottery special agents and USPS OIG investigators conducted a joint operation that led to Lockhart’s arrest on July 23. They said Lockhart admitted after her arrest to stealing the winning lottery ticket and redeeming it at the Miami District office.“Our players deserve confidence that every Lottery prize is protected through strong security measures and diligent oversight,” Florida Lottery Secretary Reginald D. “I commend our Division of Security for their outstanding investigative work and thank our partners at the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office for their collaboration in protecting the integrity of Florida Lottery games and bringing this case to a successful resolution.”Jail records show Lockhart is facing one count of grand theft, dealing …