Walmart employee arrested for allegedly hiding winning lottery ticket

A Walmart employee in Florida was charged with a felony after allegedly pocketing the receipt of a customer's winning lottery ticket.

Tameka Hall, 40, was arrested on June 15 after she allegedly took the receipt of a customer's $2,700 winning lottery ticket at the Walmart Neighborhood Market in DeLand, Florida on June 14, according to a Volusia Sheriff's Office affidavit obtained by USA TODAY. Hall has been charged with a grand theft felony, the document says.

On Sunday, June 14, a male customer came into the Walmart Neighborhood Market gas station, where Hall was working as a clerk, to check a winning lottery ticket, according to the affidavit.

Hall told the customer the winning amount of $2,700 was too much for the store to provide and gave him a receipt with directions for where to collect his winnings. Instead of giving the customer his winning ticket receipt, necessary for obtaining the money, Hall folded up the ticket and placed it in the left pocket of her uniform vest, the affidavit says.

After leaving the store, the customer realized he didn't have the receipt and went back to get it.

In an interview with the Volusia Sheriff's Office at the gas station on June 15, Hall said it wasn't until after the customer left she realized he didn't have the winning ticket receipt, according to the affidavit.

While helping another customer at the lottery ticket counter, Hall put the ticket in her pocket with the intention of giving it to her manager later. Hall told deputies she was unsure why she kept the receipt and was unaware the receipt was needed to claim the winnings, the court document says.

After her interview, Hall took the sheriff's deputies to her vehicle, where the ticket was inside. She was arrested and transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail, where she was released on a $2,500 bond the same day, according to the county's Division of Corrections.

Walmart confirmed to USA TODAY that Hall is no longer employed by the company. USA TODAY attempted to reach Hall for comment.

Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at [email protected].