A man from Winchester, Indiana, could be facing a jail sentence for buying a Hoosier Lottery ticket from the store where he worked.
According to Indiana state law it is illegal for lottery retailers or their employees to buy lottery tickets from their place of work, but Micky Stone, 36, purchased a ticket in June that bagged him a $900 prize.
Stone presented his ticket at the Hoosier Lottery's headquarters in Indianapolis on June 24, but the lottery got one of its investigators to look into the matter and check everything was above board.
Michael Bare discovered the winning "Diamond Mine" scratch-off ticket was purchased on June 6, from Hughes Pic-A-Pac, 226 W. Washington Street. According to Bare's report, at the time of the purchase Stone had been a store employee for about a year.
During an interview in July, Stone told Bare he purchased the ticket in the nearby town of Huntington.
"I reminded Stone that, when the lottery ships tickets to one of its 4,400 retailers, they are in an inactive or inert state," Bare wrote in his report. He then pointed out the ticket in question had been activated at the store where Stone worked, forcing him to admit the truth. Stone also admitted he knew his purchase was illegal.
Earlier this week Stone was charged with unlawful purchase of a lottery ticket by an employee. The offence carries a maximum prison sentence of one year.
According to Bare, if Stone returns his winning it may "influence" the lottery's decision to pursue the charges.
