Icon (Close Menu)

Logout

Arkansas Lottery Sued After Remmele Mazyck Theft

2 min read

LITTLE ROCK – A lawsuit filed against the Arkansas lottery accuses the agency of not informing gamblers that winning scratch tickets were taken out of circulation by a former security officer who pleaded guilty to stealing from the instant games.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday by two Pulaski County residents, seeks class-action status and unspecified damages on grounds that the lottery should have posted adjusted odds after the games were affected by the theft of nearly a half-million dollars’ worth of winning tickets.

Lottery director Bishop Woosley declined comment Thursday, saying he hadn’t had chance to review the lawsuit.

Raymond L. Brock and Rick Tomboli claim that the theft by Remmele Mazyck took more than 22,000 winning tickets out of the scratch game pool.

Mazyck pleaded guilty last month to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges.

Woosley fired Mazyck, the lottery’s former deputy security director, in November. Woosley said earlier he learned about Mazyck’s ticket thefts in October. Mazyck’s sentencing is pending.

The lottery said Mazyck cashed 22,710 tickets worth about $478,000 between 2009 and 2012. He would not cash tickets worth $500 or more because lottery rules prohibit employees from cashing tickets worth more than $499.

The lawsuit says the lottery should have taken action once it uncovered Mazyck’s scheme.

“The lottery repeatedly misrepresented to the public the number and cash value of the prizes still available in various scratch-off games,” the lawsuit states.

Mazyck used his security clearance to code the tickets so that they didn’t circulate but would remain active, enabling him to cash winning tickets, Woosley said. The tickets – which are packaged in lots worth $300 – were stolen from a warehouse.

Brock and Tomboli said in the suit that thousands of lottery players were affected by the altered scope of the games. The suit notes that the identities of many of the players are available through the lottery’s “Play it Again” program, in which players provide their names and addresses on a website in which they apply for second-chance prizes on losing tickets.

Tomboli sued the lottery earlier over an alleged design defect in some scratch tickets. The lottery disputed Tomboli’s claim and the lawsuit is pending.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, broadcast or distributed.)

Send this to a friend