A Manitoba court has announced its verdict it has found that a local woman accused of stealing hundreds of Canadian dollars in lottery tickets, is guilty of the crime. The perpetrator is Cynthia Hallick who allegedly stole tickets while working at a gas station in Dugald between 2015 and 2019. Now, she is required to pay back for the tickets.
Back in 2019, a statement of claim against Mr. Hallick was submitted to Manitoba’s Court of King’s Bench. It claimed that she stole an abundance of lottery tickets while working at the Sportsmanās Stop Esso in Dugald leading to a net loss of CA$425,755.92 for the establishment. However, a few months later she filed a statement of defence rejecting the accusations.
Court Says Guilty
Last month, Justice Theodor Bock announced that the case against the defendant was overwhelming. In his review of the facts, the judge noted that Ms. Hallick began work at the gas station in 2011 and was later promoted to assistant manager. In this role, she was in charge of placing orders for lottery tickets and holding the keys to the strong box containing the unactivated lottery tickets.
In 2019, an accountant noticed that finances were not adding up and it was determined the property was losing money in lottery sales. The judge explained it was impossible for the gas station to lose money on lottery sales as it only paid Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation, for tickets sold, and received a 5% commission on each sale of a ticket.
He also ruled that Ms. Hallick did steal lottery tickets resulting in a loss of CA$425,755.92 for the venue. Mr. Bock explained that her actions breached a fiduciary duty by taking advantage of the gas stationās trust in lottery tickets and enriching herself at the employerās expense. He described the ruling as a life sentence but in economic terms.
Furthermore, it would take the defendant over 28,000 hours of work at CA$15 per hour to retire the principal amount of her judgment debt. But despite his reluctance, he found her theft occurred while she was acting in a fiduciary capacity. Last, the judge said she has been charged with one count of theft over CA$5,000 for the ticket, while the charge will remain pending.
More Gambling Related Crimes
In February 2023, Quebec also heard about a similar case. In this instance, a convenience store clerk got himself arrested for allegedly stealing CA$80,000 in scratch lottery tickets and prizes from two shops in Sherbrooke. The culprit was a 27-year-old man who was detained after a search of his home and he now faced criminal charges in court.
On a more recent note, the Ontario Provincial Police has just announced has arrested five individuals in relation to a prolonged investigation at Woodbine Casino in Toronto. It revealed that the 52-year-old Arthur Segovia who worked as a table games dealer from the casino has been colluding with patrons. He was charged with criminal breach of trust, cheat at play, theft over CA$5,000 and fraud over CA$5,000
Source: McKendrick, Devon āWoman to pay back $425K in stolen lottery tickets from gas station, court decidesā CTV News Winnipeg, April 5, 2023
