A Minneapolis woman has been charged with felony state lottery fraud after allegedly stealing scratch-off tickets from an Eden Prairie gas station and cashing a winning one about 40 minutes later at another store.
According to a criminal complaint filed Oct. 27 in Hennepin County District Court, Kenneshia Lachelle Holman, 37, entered the Holiday gas station at 8051 Flying Cloud Drive on Oct. 10. Surveillance footage showed her dropping a glass bottle of coffee, prompting an employee to clean up the spill, police said.
While the employee was occupied, Holman reportedly set her purse on the counter, went behind the register, and took five $50 “Money” scratch-off tickets from beneath the counter, placing them in her purse, according to the complaint. The total loss was $250.
The Minnesota Lottery told investigators that one of the stolen tickets, worth $100, was redeemed 39 minutes later at another Holiday gas station about 15 miles away, at 1624 Washington Ave. N. in Minneapolis.
Police said surveillance video from both stores showed Holman taking the tickets and then cashing the winning one. The video also showed her driving her own vehicle at the Minneapolis location.
Holman is charged with state lottery fraud – claiming a prize by fraud or deceit, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a $50,000 fine.
She is not in custody and has been summoned to appear Nov. 12 before Judge Marta Chou at the Hennepin County Public Safety Facility in Minneapolis. Court records do not list an attorney for Holman.