Woman accused of stealing lottery tickets on job

Martha M. Ybarra's days of free lottery tickets are over, say Sugar Grove police.

Ybarra, 52, of Terry Drive in Sugar Grove, printed out at least $117,000 in Illinois Lottery tickets for herself and never paid for them while she worked at a BP Amoco convenience store in the village for more than year, authorities said.

But lady luck ran out on Ybarra when she was arrested Thursday afternoon and charged with felony theft over $100,000, said Sugar Grove police investigator John Sizer. He said Illinois Lottery agents assisted Sugar Grove in the lengthy probe.

"We've been working this for a couple of months, trying to get witnesses," Sizer said.

Ybarra was freed from the Kane County Adult Justice Center after posting 10 percent of a $70,000 bond Thursday.

Sizer said Ybarra helped herself to the lottery tickets at BP Amoco from December 2007 to about January 2009. He said suspicion first arose when the station's owner received an annual tax statement from the Illinois Lottery in September 2008.

It was thought the BP Amoco sold about $400,000 in tickets in the most recent tax year, according to the Illinois Lottery document.

However, Sizer said, an accountant told lottery officials the station's records showed roughly $300,000 in sales - a $100,000 discrepancy.

Lottery agents and Sugar Grove police eventually launched an investigation that led them to Ybarra, Sizer said.

"Whenever she was alone, she'd print out tickets for herself," Sizer said.

Sizer said it's not yet known if Ybarra wound up with winning lottery tickets that she cashed. He said the investigation into the case remains active.