Idiots of the Week: Store Clerks Take & Try Cashing $3 Million Winning Lottery Ticket, Accidentally Left behind

This week's idiots are 2 store clerks who have been indicted on charges that they schemed to steal a winning lottery ticket and attempted to cash it in at Massachusetts State Lottery Headquarters, Fortunately, this pair of idiots were caught. Here's the story.   

(PHOTO: Carly Nunes, 23, of Lakeville, Mass. and Joseph Reddem, 32, of Manchester, New Hampshire. Credit: Courtesy Plymouth County D.A)

Man forgot a $3M lottery ticket, and clerk claimed the prize. Now she and a coworker were indicted

Boston Com, June 14, 2023

The lottery winner walked out with barbecue potato chips, but unknowingly left his winning ticket behind. A Randolph, Massachusetts man pleaded not guilty Monday as prosecutors accused him of trying to extort a coworker out of part of a $3 million prize from a stolen lottery ticket.

Joseph Reddem, 32, is facing one charge of attempted extortion. He was released on personal recognizance and ordered not to gamble or have contact with witnesses and his coworker, Carly Nunes, who was also indicted in the scheme, the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office said in a press release.

After a brief search for his missing tickets, the man assumed they were lost, prosecutors said. His Mass Millions numbers were called that evening, earning him a $3 million prize.

Two days later, Reddem allegedly drove Nunes and her boyfriend to the Massachusetts State Lottery headquarters to redeem the ticket, which appeared torn and burned. Surveillance video captured Nunes and Reddem arguing in the lobby, with Reddem allegedly demanding part of the jackpot and Nunes informing him she would “only pay him $200,000,” the DA’s office said.

After overhearing the argument and taking note of the ticket’s condition, state lottery officials decided to investigate.

Nunes allegedly told officials she bought the tickets toward the end of her shift, tore the winning ticket while removing it from her wallet, and burned it by accidentally placing it on a pipe. However, the DA’s office said she later admitted she obtained the ticket inadvertently.

Investigators tracked down the ticket’s true owner nearly a month later. The Massachusetts State Lottery Commission intends to honor the victim’s claim on the $3 million jackpot.     

Nunes was indicted in May 2023 on charges of larceny from a building, attempted larceny, presentation of a false claim, and witness intimidation. She is slated for arraignment in Plymouth County Superior Court Wednesday, and it was not immediately clear whether she had retained an attorney.