A Mountain Home woman has been arrested for stealing and cashing over $53,000 worth of lottery tickets. It’s alleged the tickets were stolen from the convenience store where 32-year-old Mary Elizabeth Olivieri worked.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the regional manager for the store contacted Mountain Home police saying Olivieri would activate books of tickets and not pay for them. It’s alleged Olivieri would take whole books of tickets, some totaling $600, and cash them at other retailers in the area.
A majority of the tickets were cashed at the Mountain Home Walmart store, totaling $53,754 according to an investigator from the Arkansas State Lottery Commission.
During questioning by Mountain Home Police investigators, Olivieri said she could not understand where the money was going because she paid for the tickets. She told law enforcement she would activate the books of tickets and set them aside to be picked up at a later time.
Walmart provided police with video of Olivieri’s husband cashing tickets from the unpaid ticket books.
Olivieri is facing felony charges of lottery fraud and theft of property. Her bond is set at $50,000.
Mountain Home Police say the investigation is continuing and additional arrests are possible.
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