CT gas station clerk faces felony charge in scratch-off ticket scam
A Hartford man faces a felony charge in connection with a scam in which he used his position as a gas station clerk in Wethersfield to steal thousands of dollars worth of scratch-off tickets and activate them in the state’s lottery system.
Roger Moody, 40, would cash in the winning tickets at lottery locations in Hartford and discard any losing tickets when he worked at the Cumberland Farms on the Berlin Turnpike in Wethersfield, according to an arrest warrant affidavit written by an investigator with the state Department of Consumer Protection’s Gaming Division.
According to the affidavit, investigators were contacted last October by management with Cumberland Farms who noticed an irregularity in the Wethersfield location’s lottery ticket sales that led to the discovery of 13 missing books containing scratch-off tickets. During the investigation, Moody was reportedly seen on the store’s video surveillance system activating the missing tickets in the lottery system — which is usually done when they are sold — at the location’s lottery terminal.
A Department of Consumer Protection investigator found that none of the winning tickets were cashed at the Cumberland Farms and were instead redeemed at two lottery locations in Hartford, including a convenience mart and a liquor store, the warrant affidavit said. The archived video surveillance from one of these stores did not go far back enough for authorities to see who redeemed the winning tickets. The surveillance from the other showed Moody on at least one occasion turning in winning tickets in exchange for cash, according to the affidavit.
Cumberland Farms reported a loss during the scheme totaling $10,162, which included $6,900 worth of scratch-off tickets that were stolen and $3,262 worth of cash proceeds the store would have been entitled to, according to the warrant affidavit.
Investigators wrote in the affidavit that Moody admitted to his role in the thefts and said he wished to pay back restitution.
A judge signed an arrest warrant for Moody in February on one felony count of second-degree larceny. The Hartford man was arrested by the Department of Consumer Protection on Aug. 20 and has been free on a $50,000 bond since.
Moody, who has not entered a plea to the larceny charge, is scheduled to appear in New Britain Superior Court on Nov. 17.
