MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — In a jaw-dropping betrayal straight out of a bad heist movie, a 23-year-old Shell gas station clerk stands accused of swiping a customer's $1 million winning lottery ticket, tossing it in the trash like yesterday's receipt, and then attempting to claim the jackpot for himself.
Meer Patel, of Murfreesboro, was arrested and charged with theft over $250,000 after surveillance video allegedly captured the whole sleazy scheme, authorities said.
The drama unfolded on July 13 at the Shell station on Greenland Drive. A father from nearby Antioch rolled in and bought two $20 Diamond and Gold scratch-off tickets. Like many players do to save time, he scratched off just the barcodes and handed them over to Patel to scan and verify.
Both tickets were winners — one for a tidy $40, the other for a life-changing $1 MILLION.
Patel allegedly paid the man the $40 for the smaller prize, then casually dumped the million-dollar ticket in the trash, telling the customer it was a loser, according to the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office.
But the store cameras told a different story.
Video obtained by Tennessee Lottery investigators allegedly shows Patel later taking out the trash, fishing the winning ticket out of the bin, and pocketing it. He’s even caught celebrating in the store after scratching it further and confirming the massive prize.
Days later, on July 16, Patel showed up at the Tennessee Lottery’s Nashville headquarters trying to redeem the ticket, spinning a tale about finding it in the trash. Lottery staff smelled something rotten, his ID, his story, the whole thing, and held onto the ticket while alerting authorities.
Detectives quickly matched the evidence, tracked down the rightful owner, who had no idea he’d hit it big, and returned the ticket to the stunned dad.“That is absolutely life-changing money,” Lt. Det. Steve Craig told reporters. “The feel-good side of this story is the father never knew he was the winner until we made contact with him.”
Patel was booked into the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center on the felony theft charge. He was being held on a $100,000 bond.
The case has left locals shaking their heads at the brazen greed. One wrong move with that ticket, and a hardworking father could have walked away with nothing while the man behind the counter walked off with a fortune.
Instead, thanks to sharp-eyed lottery officials and crystal-clear surveillance video, justice and the million bucks went to the right guy.
