SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — A third suspect was arrested Aug. 7 in connection with a lottery scam that stole about $1.05 million from a San Angelo Walmart over the course of a year. Here’s the latest on his involvement, according to court records.
According to an affidavit filed in Tom Green County, a San Angelo Police Department detective was notified by a Walmart Global Investigations and Security investigator on July 30 that an investigation into lottery ticket redemption fraud was underway.
The Walmart investigator stated that his investigation led to the discovery that 21-year-old Zkel Grant, an employee of the Walmart Neighborhood Market at 1852 Sherwood Way, conducted fraudulent prize transactions to withdraw the winnings in U.S. currency.
These transactions ranged in value from $10 to $1,500 and occurred between February 18 and April 28. The Walmart detective told the SAPD investigator that the amount of money stolen from the store during this time period was approximately $76,165.41.
The Walmart investigator said the transactions “primarily involved taking money from the register and later pocketing it,” although some of them were legitimate lottery winnings from customers for which Grant “entered a different dollar amount at the Walmart register.”
The Walmart detective said that on other occasions, Grant accepted lottery winnings from customers but did not scan them into the lottery terminal, instead keeping the ticket for himself after paying. Grant was also accused of transferring the money to a gift or debit card he carried with him.
The affidavit also states that a legitimate customer won $110 on February 18. Grant allegedly “entered $310 and lost $200,” which he then pocketed.
The Walmart investigator told the SAPD detective that all of the fraudulent lottery transactions were conducted by Grant, Carmelo Amigleo and Ryan Munoz. Walmart security camera footage captured the three completing these transactions, occasionally working together. Amigleo and Munoz were arrested by police on July 29 in connection with the incident.
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The Walmart detective also stated that Grant left Walmart on April 29 to “pursue other professional opportunities.”
The SAPD investigator reviewed footage from the store’s CCTV system, which showed Grant had “supervision and control of the customer service desk” where the lottery terminal for the store was located. By viewing this surveillance footage, the investigator observed Grant conducting fraudulent lottery transactions and pocketing funds from those transactions. Grant was also observed failing to scan a winning lottery ticket and pocketing it for himself, as well as using gift and debit cards while conducting fraudulent transactions.
The SAPD detective spoke with Amigleo during a non-custodial interview on August 2. During that interview, Amigleo stated that Grant showed him how to run the lottery fraud scheme and that he observed Grant taking money from the cash register after conducting multiple fraudulent transactions.
As of the time of this article’s publication, Grant has been held at the Tom Green County Detention Center since his arrest on August 7. He is charged with theft of property between $30,000 and $150,000 and is held on $350,000 bail.
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