Florida USPS carrier charged for stealing winning lottery ticket from mail, cashing prize

The Florida Lottery ticket was redeemed on July 19 at a Florida Lottery office in Miami by US Postal Service letter carrier Lakaysha Lockhart. Investigators determined that Lockhart redeemed the ticket after the Florida Lottery Division of Security and the US Postal Service Office of the Inspector General launched an investigation.

The investigation began after the lottery player reported the ticket was sent through the mail but didn’t reach its destination. Lockhart was arrested on July 23 and admitted to stealing the ticket.

The ticket had a cash value of $2,600. According to a report by People, an arrest affidavit stated that the original buyer went to a Publix grocery store to verify the prize, then mailed it to a “family relative” in South Florida to help the relative with funeral costs.

Florida Lottery revealed that Lockhart was charged with grand theft, dealing in stolen property, filing a false claim for payment, two counts of unlawful use of a two-way communications device, and mail theft.

"Our players deserve confidence that every Lottery prize is protected through strong security measures and diligent oversight," said Reginald D. Dixon, secretary of the Florida Lottery. "I commend our Division of Security for their outstanding investigative work and thank our partners at the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the Broward County Sheriff's Office for their collaboration in protecting the integrity of Florida Lottery games and bringing this case to a successful resolution."

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