A Florida couple who thought they won the state lottery is facing serious charges after attempting to pass off a crudely altered lottery ticket as a million-dollar winner.
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Kira Enders, 36, and Dakota Jones, 32, were arrested and charged with multiple crimes offenses, including forgery and grand theft of $100,000. According to TOO FAB, the couple attempted to deceive lottery officials with a $50 scratch-off for the 500X The Cash Game which was torn in half, taped together, and then laminated. Escambia Sheriff Chip Simmons said in a statement that lottery officials were suspicious of the ticket due to the mismatched serial numbers on either side of the joined pieces.
Enders submitted the fraudulent ticket on March 1, and the couple’s arrested reportedly occurred after she requested an update on the “prize money” and was invited to speak with a special agent at the lottery office. During their interviews, the couple provided conflicted accounts on how they acquired the ticket. Enders claimed she purchased the ticket at a Winn-Dixie and it accidentally tore while scratching it.
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She was shocked and confuse at the suggestion that the two halves didn’t belong together plus told authorities tat she had taped it together hoping to claim the prize and share it with her boyfriend to open a hair salon. However, Jones said that they found the torn pieces on the ground and acknowledged advising Enders against taping their pieces together due to its suspicious appearance and knew the numbers did not match. He still maintained their innocence, inisiting that they were not trying to defraud the lottery and believed that they won.
The couple was released on bond and are scheduled to appear in court on May 10. Sheriff Simmons says the couple’s attempt on winning a million dollars should’ve been more solid:
“If you’re gonna try to claim a million dollars, you’ve got to do a lot better than this. You’re not a lottery winner, you’re a criminal.”