June 3, 2026
A Panama City store clerk was charged after allegedly telling an undercover Florida Lottery officer that a winning ticket was worthless, then trying to claim the prize himself at lottery headquarters.
A Florida store clerk is facing criminal charges after allegedly trying to steal a winning lottery ticket from a customer who turned out to be an undercover Florida Lottery official.
The incident happened in Panama City, where clerk Rohail Khan was tested as part of a Florida Lottery compliance operation. The purpose of the test was to check whether retailers were properly following lottery rules and honestly handling winning tickets.
According to officials, Khan failed that test.
Where: Panama City, Florida
Who: store clerk Rohail Khan
The set-up: a Florida Lottery compliance check using an undercover officer
The ticket: a winner worth $600 or more — above the in-store payout limit
What allegedly happened: the clerk called it a loser, offered a free ticket and kept it
The unravelling: he turned up at lottery headquarters on May 26 to claim the prize
Charges: dealing in stolen property, unlawfully selling the right to claim a lottery prize
Clerk Told Customer the Ticket Was Not a Winner
The undercover officer entered the store with a lottery ticket that had won $600 or more, meaning the prize had to be claimed directly through the Florida Lottery rather than paid out at the store.
Instead of informing the customer properly, Khan allegedly told the undercover officer that the ticket was not a winner. He then reportedly offered the customer a free ticket while keeping the winning ticket for himself.
At the time, Khan did not know that the customer was actually working with the Florida Lottery.
Why the $600 Threshold Matters
The value of the ticket is not incidental to the alleged scheme — it is the whole reason the opportunity existed. Retailers are authorised to pay out only up to a set limit, and anything above it has to be claimed through official lottery channels.
It is also why the honest version of this interaction looks different in one specific way: a genuine winner above the limit produces an instruction, not a payout. The correct response is to tell the customer the prize has to be claimed through the lottery, and to hand the ticket straight back.
Attempt to Claim the Prize Backfires
The situation escalated on May 26, when Khan appeared at Florida Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee to claim the prize.
According to officials, he told lottery staff that he had purchased the winning ticket from the original customer for $800.
That explanation quickly fell apart. Lottery officials informed Khan that the person he claimed to have bought the ticket from was actually an undercover lottery officer conducting a compliance check.
Presented with the evidence, Khan allegedly admitted what had happened.
How a Compliance Check Is Built
Operations like this one are designed so that the outcome is documented before anyone is confronted. The ticket is known, its value is known, and the person presenting it is an official — so whatever the clerk does next is recorded against a baseline that cannot later be disputed.
The second half of the trap is the claim itself. A prize above the retailer limit can only be collected at a lottery office, which means anyone who takes a customer's winning ticket has to walk into the operator's own building to convert it into money. In this case, the story offered at the counter in Tallahassee — that the ticket had been bought from the player for $800 — was checked against a record the lottery already had.
Criminal Charges Filed
Khan has now been charged with dealing in stolen property and unlawfully selling the right to claim a lottery prize.
The second charge is the one specific to the industry. Buying or selling the right to claim a prize is prohibited in its own right in Florida, separate from any theft, because the practice is a standard route for laundering money and for discounting tickets away from players who do not know what they are holding.
The case highlights the risks involved when lottery retailers attempt to deceive players. State lottery compliance checks are designed to make sure that customers receive accurate information about winning tickets and are not cheated by store employees.
Florida Continues Gambling Enforcement Efforts
The case comes as Florida authorities continue to focus on gambling-related enforcement across the state.
In addition to lottery compliance checks, police and gaming regulators have been targeting illegal gambling operations, especially unlicensed gaming machines.
In mid-May, authorities in Manatee County seized 265 illegal gambling machines and more than $120,000 in cash during an operation conducted with the Florida Gaming Control Commission.
While that case involved illegal gaming machines rather than lottery tickets, both enforcement actions show that Florida regulators are continuing to monitor gambling activity closely.
Compliance Checks Protect Lottery Players
Lottery retailers are expected to scan tickets honestly, inform customers of the correct result and explain when a prize must be claimed through official lottery channels.
In this case, the winning ticket required a claim at lottery headquarters because it exceeded the store payout threshold. Instead of following procedure, Khan allegedly tried to keep the prize for himself.
The failed attempt ultimately turned into a criminal case after the supposed customer was revealed to be an undercover official.
For players, the practical lesson is the same one the threshold implies: sign the back of a ticket before handing it over, and check the draw results independently rather than relying on someone else's word at the counter.
Details are as reported by the Florida Lottery and law enforcement at the time of writing; the defendant is presumed innocent until proven otherwise. Playing the lottery should stay entertainment — set your limits and take a break if it stops being fun.
