Nebraska's Lottery Winner Accusing Ticket of Being Fake Fights Fraudulent Charge
In the small town of Greeley, Nebraska, a local gas station manager named Jeremiah Ehlers finds himself at the centre of a contentious legal case. Ehlers, who previously managed Rapid Stop, is accused of winning a $300,000 lottery prize without paying for the ticket.
According to court documents, Ehlers scratched the ticket, scanned it twice, and paid for it. However, the district manager of Rapid Stop reviewed security footage that showed Ehlers grabbing a Diamond Dollars ticket without paying. The authorities subsequently seized approximately $129,000 from Ehlers' bank accounts.
Ehlers claimed the $300k lottery prize on April 23, 2024, and received $213K after tax. However, his case is currently being disputed due to a lack of sufficient probable cause evidence. Ehlers' lawyer filed a motion to dismiss the felony theft by deception charge, arguing the evidence presented was insufficient.
The law in Nebraska requires lottery tickets to be paid for before they are played. There have been instances where store employees have scanned a customer's ticket to see if it's a winner, informed the customer it isn't, and later fished the winning ticket out of the trash. Lottery officials often raise red flags when jackpot-winning employees, who have direct access to unsold scratch-off tickets, win lotteries.
Before his arrest in January 2025, Ehlers spent around $84,000 on vehicles, home repairs, and personal debts. Interestingly, the Nebraska Lottery initially celebrated Ehlers' win and even featured him with an outsized novelty check. However, Ehlers was fired from his job a week after claiming the prize.
A hearing on the motion to dismiss is scheduled for July 29, 2025. For those seeking more information about this case, it might be necessary to check local Nebraska news outlets, court records, or official statements from the Nebraska Lottery or law enforcement agencies.
- Jeremiah Ehlers, the former manager of Rapid Stop in Greeley, Nebraska, is currently facing a felony theft by deception charge for allegedly winning a $300,000 lottery prize without purchasing the ticket.
- The Nebraska Lottery, which initially celebrated Ehlers' win and presented him with an outsized novelty check, is now under scrutiny due to the suspicious circumstances surrounding his victory.
- The case against Ehlers is based on security footage that shows him grabbing a scratch-off ticket without paying at the Rapid Stop gas station, a move that violates Nebraska lottery laws.
- The legal proceedings have unearthed the issue of potential lottery fraud within the industry, with instances reported where store employees have taken advantage of their positions to win lotteries without purchasing a ticket.
- As the case progresses through the justice system, news outlets focusing on general news, crime and justice, and local Nebraska news are expected to provide updates on this intriguing tale of rapid stop, gambling, and possible fraud.
