Suit: Store employee stole $1 million lottery ticket
A Waukegan man is suing CVS Pharmacy and one of its employees, claiming the store clerk stole a $1 million scratch-off lottery ticket earlier this year.
Carlos Figueroa is asking a Cook County judge to award him the $1 million prize through the lawsuit naming the pharmacy chain and employee Russell Kelly as defendants.
The lawsuit also seeks a temporary restraining order to block the Illinois Lottery from awarding the prize to Kelly.
"At this time we haven't been served with the complaint," a CVS spokesman said Wednesday in response to an inquiry about the allegations.
Court documents state Figueroa went to the CVS Pharmacy on Lewis Avenue in Waukegan on Oct. 30 and purchased a Merry Millionaire ticket from a vending machine. Because of a malfunction, the ticket was ripped in half when it was dispensed, court documents read.
When he saw that the ticket was an instant winner, Figueroa showed it to Kelly, according to the suit. Figueroa alleges Kelly then coerced him to turn over half the ticket to prove he was a winner.
About 20 minutes later, Kelly returned with a lottery ticket and gave it to Figueroa, court documents state. However, that ticket was not the winner, Figueroa claims.
"The plaintiff Figueroa is the rightful owner of the ticket and the proceeds therefrom," the suit states.
According to the suit, Kelly has repeatedly refused to turn over the winning ticket.