Liquor Store Clerks Charged for Allegedly Stealing Winning $3 Million Lottery Ticket Left Behind by Customer

The two are accused of trying to cash in the ticket, which had been "torn" and "burned."

Video via WMUR-TV

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Video via WMUR-TV

Two employees at a liquor store in Massachusetts have been charged in connection with allegedly trying to steal a winning $3 million lottery ticket.

As announced by the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office this month, 23-year-old Carly Nunes and 32-year-old Joseph Reddem have both been named in grand jury indictments over the case, which centers on a customer at the store who accidentally forgot his lottery ticket when making a purchase back in January.

Here’s what happened; allegedly, at least: The unnamed victim, described only as a male, entered the Lakeville area store in question on Jan. 17 of this year, at which point he bought a bag of chips and made several lottery-related purchases. While this individual made it home with his chips, said to have been of the barbecue variety, he forgot his lottery tickets. That same night, his Mass Millions ticket numbers were announced as having won $3 million.

Following a brief search for the forgotten tickets, the man is said to have accepted that he had simply lost them. However, another customer had purchased lottery tickets roughly 45 minutes after his visit to the same store. This customer, prosecutors allege, informed the store clerks they had been given “two extra tickets,” both of which belonged to the victim. Two days after the forgotten tickets debacle, Nunes and her boyfriend showed up at state lottery headquarters with a winning ticket that was noticeably “torn” and “burned.” 

Footage from the facility’s surveillance cameras, notably, showed Nunes and Reddem arguing about the winnings, with the latter being accused of having made specific demands while Nunes said she was only going to offer him $200,000 out of the $3 million would-be haul. Due to the circumstances of the attempted ticket claim, an investigation was launched involving state lottery officials and police. Deeper into this investigation, Nunes walked back her initial claim of having bought the winning ticket by saying she had instead “inadvertently obtained” it.

Nunes has now been charged with larceny from a build, attempted larceny, presentation of a false claim, and witness intimidation. Reddem, meanwhile, has been charged with attempted extortion.

As for the original purchaser of the winning ticket, he has since been located. Per a press release, the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission “intends to honor the victim’s claim on the $3 million jackpot.”


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