Former MD Lottery employee charged with theft of lottery tickets

Apr 19, 2013, 9:33 am (34 comments)

Maryland Lottery

Claimed $67,000 in winnings before he was caught

BALTIMORE, Md. — A former Maryland Lottery official has been indicted for stealing tickets and collecting tens of thousands of dollars from the winnings, officials said on Thursday.

Mark Barron Hantski, 59, of Lothian, a former Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency employee, collected $67,000 in winnings after stealing tickets from the Maryland Lottery, officials said in a news release.

Officials say that the Grand Jury for Anne Arundel County formally charged on April 18th.

Hantski stole $99,600 worth of lottery tickets from nine different retailers, officials said.

Felony theft scheme over $10,000 but under $100,000 is punishable by a maximum sentence of 15 years incarceration and $15,000 fine. Hantski's arraignment date has been set for May 6, according to the news release.

Thanks to Original Bey for the tip.

WUSA9

Comments

MADDOG10's avatarMADDOG10

I wonder if Mr. Hantski and Ms. Rameriaz  ( from Iowa ) had coffee together before they became so ingenious...

HaveABall's avatarHaveABall

Quote: Originally posted by MADDOG10 on Apr 19, 2013

I wonder if Mr. Hantski and Ms. Rameriaz  ( from Iowa ) had coffee together before they became so ingenious...

I agree, MADDOG10, or even tea! Coffee

hearsetrax's avatarhearsetrax

Twitchjust the other nut job that ought to be bbqed

KY Floyd's avatarKY Floyd

$67,000 in winnings  from only $99,600 worth of tickets? Is there a chance that Maryland has a payout ratio that good, or is there a bit more to this story?

redhot7's avatarredhot7

I thought tickets can only be claimed after they are activated by the retailers. So, did he stole the tickets after they were activated in the stores? How did he do that? Even for a lottery employee, it would be pretty difficult to steal the tickets once they arrived at the stores and activated.

Jon D's avatarJon D

Quote: Originally posted by KY Floyd on Apr 19, 2013

$67,000 in winnings  from only $99,600 worth of tickets? Is there a chance that Maryland has a payout ratio that good, or is there a bit more to this story?

70% total payback on Scratch games is common in most states, even without hitting the top prize. Don't know about MD, they don't seem to publish complete info on their games.

Jon D's avatarJon D

Quote: Originally posted by redhot7 on Apr 19, 2013

I thought tickets can only be claimed after they are activated by the retailers. So, did he stole the tickets after they were activated in the stores? How did he do that? Even for a lottery employee, it would be pretty difficult to steal the tickets once they arrived at the stores and activated.

Maybe they were games that were pulled due to end of sale date. If he was working on the inside, he may have been able to alter (or fail to update) the pack status. You'd have to think it would catch up to him some way later on, so still pretty stupid.

jamella724

Mr. Hantski is so clever.  It's just so sad he didn't use his brain in good things. I hope he get capital punishment so people will not do the same.

sully16's avatarsully16

Quote: Originally posted by MADDOG10 on Apr 19, 2013

I wonder if Mr. Hantski and Ms. Rameriaz  ( from Iowa ) had coffee together before they became so ingenious...

lol, Legends in their own mind.

Artist77's avatarArtist77

So he stole tickets that came into the lottery office for approval or something before they were sent to retailers? I am not getting this either.

Ronnie316

Quote: Originally posted by Artist77 on Apr 20, 2013

So he stole tickets that came into the lottery office for approval or something before they were sent to retailers? I am not getting this either.

Read the actual news release. It says he pulled it off while a lottery employee.

http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2013/041813.html

Ronnie316

This is why I don't like "distributors" who handle the tickets between printing and the retailer.

Artist77's avatarArtist77

Thanks!  Interesting story.  I am still not sure how he did this....he visited stores in his capacity as a lottery rep. and stole tickets there or he stole them before they even got to the store?

Ronnie316

Quote: Originally posted by Artist77 on Apr 20, 2013

Thanks!  Interesting story.  I am still not sure how he did this....he visited stores in his capacity as a lottery rep. and stole tickets there or he stole them before they even got to the store?

It seems maybe they want to keep the "how to" a secret. lol. lol. But considering that the tickets must be scanned in at the store to be valid he must have had access to the vending machines or the display counters to take tickets. I'm sure the trick was knowing which ones to take.

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