A criminal couple found themselves in custody instead of cashing in on a huge jackpot when they tried to commit poorly-planned lottery fraud.
Lovers lottery fraud scheme was half-baked
Kira Enders, 36, strolled into a Pensacola-based Florida Lottery office on March 1, confidently presenting what she claimed was a winning 500X The Cash scratch-off ticket, eyeing the cool $1 million prize.
She went the extra mile, diligently filling out her information on the backside of the ticket, oblivious to the obvious warning that tampering with a scratch off has criminal consequences.
But it seems the lottery officials smelled a rat right off the bat, as their quick analysis later branded the ticket a dud.
The details surrounding their initial suspicions remain a bit murky, but Enders’ follow-up call just days later, itching for her jackpot, seemingly pushed the agency into action.
Fast forward to March 11, and Enders, alongside her boyfriend, 32-year-old Dakota Jones, found themselves at a meeting with a lottery investigator, not the getting getting the payday they anticipated.
Instead of celebrating their newfound wealth, the duo were separated and taken for questioning about the dubious ticket.
Turns out, the supposed golden ticket was nothing more than a clumsy attempt at lottery fraud, crafted by sticking together two mismatched tickets and laminating the Frankenstein creation.
Escambia Sheriff Chip Simmons didn’t mince words, describing the makeshift ticket as a ham-fisted effort to forge a million-dollar winner.
“I don’t think this is gonna be a made-for-TV movie type of situation because, uh, it was clear to the lottery officials, and obviously clear to us, that she had taken two tickets with different, you know, one side had one serial number, the other side had the other serial number on it,” Simmons told CBS News.
“Especially whenever you pretend like you’ve won a million dollars, they’re gonna take a look at this at this ticket.”
The plot thickens as the couple’s recollection of how they came into possession of the ticket diverged wildly.
Initially, Enders drew a blank on where the ticket came from, only to later recall that she picked it up at a Winn-Dixie after it had tragically split in two during a rainstorm. Her fix? Simply taping it back together, not to deceive—so she claimed—but to mend the tear.
Her astonishment was palpable when questioned about the mismatched serial numbers. “What, they don’t go together?” she asked incredulously.
Enders labeled the realization about the non-matching numbers as “insane” and admitting it left her “mind” totally “blow[n].”
Jones, on his part, spun a tale about coming across the ticket by sheer luck on a street, where it was already ripped in half.
Despite the torn condition, he recalled advising Enders against the DIY repair and submission due to its less than legitimate appearance.
Jones claimed that he and his girlfriend were “honest people” who weren’t trying to steal a $1 million jackpot from the lottery.
He even insisted that officials believed their alleged win was legitimate. “When they looked at the ticket, they thought it was legit,” the affidavit states.
In the end, both Enders and Jones are facing the music, they were arrested and charged with forgery and larceny-grand theft, among other counts, all for a gamble that didn’t pay off.
After posting their bails, $17,500 for Jones and $20,000 for Ender, the pair of star-crossed scammers are now awaiting their May 10 court date.
