RETAIL EMPLOYEE IN LA GRANDE FACES CHARGES FOR THEFT OF WINNING OREGON LOTTERY TICKET

By Shannon Weidemann (McKone) on Friday, October 25th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News

Salem, Ore. – UPDATE: Statement from Short Stop Xtreme Froyo and Espresso:

“After today’s recent news being released, we wanted to release a statement regarding our position in this matter with Oregon Lottery. At Short Stop Xtreme we provide our customers the highest level of transparency and pride ourselves on being a family-owned & operated business for over 35 years. Upon being notified by a lottery official that an employee of ours had failed an Oregon Lottery Integrity Check (Sting Operation), we worked hand in hand with OSP & Oregon Lottery to ensure this employee was properly charged for their actions. Upon the closure of this cooperative effort, the employee was immediately terminated, and other staff were notified of the actions he committed. Upon further investigation, we discovered this employee was performing actions of theft against us as well. With being a trustworthy lottery retailer for almost 20 years, we were astonished that anybody would perform such an act.

As a business, we felt especially betrayed that someone would perform such an act while representing us and our values. Oregon Lottery does provide different avenues for checking your tickets such as front-facing customer scanners, and a mobile app. However, we feel you should never have to deal with this kind of an issue when playing Oregon Lottery, and will continue to provide the utmost level of honesty and integrity that all our customers deserve. We deeply apologize for allowing this individual to taint our integrity as well as your perception of us as a business. For those who know us, understand that we go above and beyond everyday to be the best local business for our customers.”

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(OSP Release) A store employee is facing charges after they were caught stealing a winning lottery ticket as part of a Retail Integrity Check operation conducted by Oregon State Police (OSP) and Oregon Lottery.

On Thursday, September 19, 2024, detectives from OSP’s Lottery security section presented a winning ticket to an employee at the Short Stop located at 1709 Gekeler Lane in La Grande. The employee scanned the tickets presented by the detective and advised there were no winners, keeping the ticket worth $25,000. Following the check, detectives had the ticket placed on “hold” by Oregon Lottery staff.

On September 26, 2024, the clerk mailed in the winning Lottery ticket in an attempt to redeem the $25,000 prize. Along with the winning ticket, the clerk also mailed in the Lottery Winner Claim Form and signed the declaration. After interviewing the clerk, OSP Lottery detectives cited the individual for Aggravated Theft 1 and Computer Crime. Additional charges of Theft by Deception and Forgery in the First Degree are being recommended to the Marion County District Attorney’s Office.

The business has been an Oregon Lottery retailer since 2005 and does not have a history of compliance issues.

“While it is rare to see an individual be dishonest at one of our retailers, we have a responsibility to ensure our games are played with fairness and integrity,” said Justin Hedlund, Oregon Lottery’s assistant director of security. “These checks are one way we accomplish that.”

Undercover checks are done routinely by OSP at Oregon Lottery retailers throughout the year, with more than 170 being conducted since 2020. OSP detectives assigned to Oregon Lottery help support the agency by ensuring fairness, integrity, security and honesty in the operation of the Lottery. The Oregon Lottery recommends that you sign the back of your ticket to ensure you can claim any prize.

Since the Oregon Lottery began selling tickets on April 25, 1985, it has earned more than $15.5 billion for economic development, public education, outdoor school, state parks, veteran services, and watershed enhancements. For more information on the Oregon Lottery, visit www.oregonlottery.org.

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(Authors Notes) Oregon State Police has clarified why the suspect was not identified by name in the original release, stating:

“The suspect is not a juvenile. The name has not been released since the case is awaiting adjudication. Any further information related to this case would come from the Marion County District Attorney’s Office.”