Trio charged in lotto ticket theft
Authorities in Ontario are now looking for the person who purchased $12.5M winner
By Megan O'Toole, Postmedia News September 30, 2010
http://www.canada.com/Trio+charged+lotto+ticket+theft/3602303/story.html
A father, son and daughter who allegedly worked in cahoots to defraud customers at a Burlington, Ont. variety store have been charged in a $12.5-million lottery theft scheme, Ontario Provincial Police announced on Wednesday.
Jun-Chul Chung, 60, and his son Kenneth Chung, 28, both of Thornhill, Ont. are accused of stealing lottery tickets from customers at a Variety Plus store where they worked in Burlington, Ont.
One of those tickets led to the windfall $12.5-million win, which was ultimately claimed in 2004 by store manager Kenneth Chung's sister, Kathleen Chung, 29, of Oakville, Ont.
Police uncovered the alleged fraud as part of a massive insider-win probe examining cases between 1999 and 2006.
"The OPP is committed to bring to justice those who would victimize people by defrauding them of their rightful lottery winnings," Commissioner Chris Lewis said at a news conference near Toronto's Pearson International Airport on Wednesday morning.
The Chungs allegedly ran a scheme in which they would steal "free play" tickets won by their customers and play the tickets themselves. The free play tickets would bear a different number from the customers' original lottery tickets, and the Chungs would not know until the next draw whether they had a winner.
This type of theft occurred four times, police say, but one of the free play tickets ended up hitting the $12.5-million jackpot.
Authorities are now seeking the "rightful winner" of the massive payout, saying the customer had specific lottery habits and may have been playing as part of a group.
Interviews with potential claimants will help reveal the genuine winner, police said, acknowledging they are likely to get "hundreds" of calls.
"Each claim will be investigated based on the information they provide," Insp. Bill Price said. He would not provide details of the winning customer's lottery habits, as that could taint the probe, but said the individual tends to "play the same way."
The winning numbers were 6, 8, 14, 25, 36, 41 and 42, but since those numbers were only printed on the free play ticket that was withheld by the Chungs, the winner would not have that information.
The original ticket was purchased at a That's Entertainment store in St. Catharines, Ont. in 2003 and validated at the Burlington variety store that same year.
Police have seized more than $10-million from the Chungs as proceeds of crime.
All three face numerous charges, including fraud over $5,000, possession of the proceeds of crime and money laundering.
Kenneth and Jun-Chul Chung also face several additional theft and possession charges.
The trio were scheduled for a bail hearing in Milton, Ont. later Wednesday.
At a news conference later Wednesday, Ontario Lottery Gaming pointed to a number of strict new measures -- such as the jingle played when a winning ticket is cashed -- aimed at ensuring "the right prize gets into the right hands," chairman Paul Godfrey said.
"Certainly there are cases that probably should have been prevented years ago," he said.
© Copyright (c) Postmedia News
Authorities in Ontario are now looking for the person who purchased $12.5M winner
By Megan O'Toole, Postmedia News September 30, 2010
http://www.canada.com/Trio+charged+lotto+ticket+theft/3602303/story.html
A father, son and daughter who allegedly worked in cahoots to defraud customers at a Burlington, Ont. variety store have been charged in a $12.5-million lottery theft scheme, Ontario Provincial Police announced on Wednesday.
Jun-Chul Chung, 60, and his son Kenneth Chung, 28, both of Thornhill, Ont. are accused of stealing lottery tickets from customers at a Variety Plus store where they worked in Burlington, Ont.
One of those tickets led to the windfall $12.5-million win, which was ultimately claimed in 2004 by store manager Kenneth Chung's sister, Kathleen Chung, 29, of Oakville, Ont.
Police uncovered the alleged fraud as part of a massive insider-win probe examining cases between 1999 and 2006.
"The OPP is committed to bring to justice those who would victimize people by defrauding them of their rightful lottery winnings," Commissioner Chris Lewis said at a news conference near Toronto's Pearson International Airport on Wednesday morning.
The Chungs allegedly ran a scheme in which they would steal "free play" tickets won by their customers and play the tickets themselves. The free play tickets would bear a different number from the customers' original lottery tickets, and the Chungs would not know until the next draw whether they had a winner.
This type of theft occurred four times, police say, but one of the free play tickets ended up hitting the $12.5-million jackpot.
Authorities are now seeking the "rightful winner" of the massive payout, saying the customer had specific lottery habits and may have been playing as part of a group.
Interviews with potential claimants will help reveal the genuine winner, police said, acknowledging they are likely to get "hundreds" of calls.
"Each claim will be investigated based on the information they provide," Insp. Bill Price said. He would not provide details of the winning customer's lottery habits, as that could taint the probe, but said the individual tends to "play the same way."
The winning numbers were 6, 8, 14, 25, 36, 41 and 42, but since those numbers were only printed on the free play ticket that was withheld by the Chungs, the winner would not have that information.
The original ticket was purchased at a That's Entertainment store in St. Catharines, Ont. in 2003 and validated at the Burlington variety store that same year.
Police have seized more than $10-million from the Chungs as proceeds of crime.
All three face numerous charges, including fraud over $5,000, possession of the proceeds of crime and money laundering.
Kenneth and Jun-Chul Chung also face several additional theft and possession charges.
The trio were scheduled for a bail hearing in Milton, Ont. later Wednesday.
At a news conference later Wednesday, Ontario Lottery Gaming pointed to a number of strict new measures -- such as the jingle played when a winning ticket is cashed -- aimed at ensuring "the right prize gets into the right hands," chairman Paul Godfrey said.
"Certainly there are cases that probably should have been prevented years ago," he said.
© Copyright (c) Postmedia News
