Do You Have the Winning Ticket?

Approximately $12,000 worth of scratch-off lottery tickets were believed to have been stolen from a Hatboro convenience store, including at least one winning ticket, police said. 

Hatboro Police initiated an investigation earlier this month after the lottery commission contacted the store, which is located in the 500 block or North York Road, regarding an attempt to cash a winning scratch-off ticket that had not been activated. 

This led to the discovery that tickets totaling an approximate $12,000 purchase price had been stolen from the store sometime between Aug. 1 and Aug. 9. 

The stolen ticket was not redeemed and the automated system notified the commission, police said. A technical process is used to activate all Pennsylvania lottery tickets. It must be completed only by the store which issued the tickets. The process is not finalized until the time of legitimate sale. 

Without the correct activation process, the tickets are invalid and can’t be redeemed. 

"Residents should never buy lottery tickets from anyone but an authorized retailer, due to the likelihood they could be stolen and ultimately useless," Hatboro Police Sgt. James Petrik said.  

The investigation is ongoing.