Lottery tickets found already scratched across GTA, Pickering resident charged
Published December 12, 2023 at 9:05 am
A Pickering man faces charges after lottery tickets were found already scratched in stores across the Greater Toronto Area.
Lottery ticket customers began reporting that their scratch tickets had already been scratched in October, OPP said in a press release.
The tickets were found pre-scratched in shops across the Greater Toronto Area, police said.
Reportedly the tickets at multiple locations were scratched and then placed back into ticket displays without the store clerk’s knowledge, police said.
On Dec. 6, police charged Stephen Michael Dea, 44 of Pickering with four counts of fraud under $5,000 and four counts of theft under $5,000.
The accused was not an employee at any retail outlet selling tickets, police said.
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Dea has been released from custody and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Oshawa on Feb. 15.
INsauga's Editorial Standards and PoliciesThe OPP has charged a Pickering resident in connection with lottery scratch ticket fraud. In October, people across the GTA reported their scratch tickets had already been scratched. The accused was not an employee at any retail outlet selling tickets. ^bd pic.twitter.com/KJOLwEHzpF
— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) December 11, 2023