A South Florida postal worker allegedly saw a winning lottery ticket in the mail and decided it was hers to claim. Investigators say the ticket’s actual owner never received it, while the letter carrier later redeemed the Pick 4 winner at a Miami lottery office.
USPS letter carrier Lekaysha Lockhart was arrested last Thursday after a Florida Lottery player reported that a winning ticket she mailed never reached its destination, according to WPTV. A Florida Lottery inspector determined Lockhart redeemed the ticket on June 19 at the agency’s Miami District Office.
Following the arrest, Florida Lottery special agents and investigators with the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General said Lockhart admitted stealing the ticket and redeeming it. The joint investigation also involved the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, according to the Florida Lottery’s account of the case.
Postal Worker Faces Multiple Charges
Lockhart was charged with grand theft, dealing in stolen property, filing a false claim for payment, mail theft and two counts of unlawful use of a two-way communications device. The Florida Lottery Division of Security said the cases will be prosecuted separately because the alleged offenses occurred in multiple judicial circuits.
Florida Lottery Secretary Reginald D. Dixon said players should be able to trust that prizes are protected by security checks and oversight. He credited the agency’s security division and its law-enforcement partners with investigating the claim and resolving the case, WPTV reported.
What Florida Lottery Players Should Know
Florida Lottery rules allow prizes from $600 through $249,999 to be claimed at a district office, through a secured drop box or by mail, according to the Florida Lottery’s claim guidance. The agency recommends signing the back of a winning ticket and keeping it secure, while noting that the risk of mailing a ticket remains with the player.
Lockhart’s arrest is an accusation, not a conviction, and the case will now move through the courts. The alleged scheme turned a routine piece of mail into a multi-agency investigation—and left the original winner waiting for the ticket to make it where it was supposed to go.
