Berkeley County, South Carolina man accused of sending clerks to the restroom and stealing 35 scratch-offs

A 23-year-old Berkeley County man is accused of getting convenience store clerks to step away to the restroom and taking South Carolina Education Lottery scratch-offs while they were gone.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) charged Connor Garrison Anderson on Thursday, October 15, with two counts of Attempting to Influence a Game by Coercion, Tampering or Deception, the agency said in a release Tuesday, October 20. The South Carolina Education Lottery requested the investigation. Anderson was booked into the Berkeley County Hill-Finklea Detention Center. He was released later that day on a personal recognizance bond. Anderson has not been convicted and is presumed innocent.

According to the first arrest warrant, on September 13 and 14, Anderson used deception to get the clerk at a 7-Eleven, A Plus #4038511 at 301 N. Goose Creek Blvd. in Goose Creek, to leave the counter and go to the restroom, then allegedly stole eight scratch-off tickets. The second warrant describes the same approach on September 17 and 19 at Spinx #358, 2801 Highway 52 in Moncks Corner, where 27 tickets were allegedly stolen. Six of those were later redeemed at lottery retailers for $165 in cash prizes, that warrant says.

Both warrants say the alleged thefts were recorded on video and that the stolen tickets were then scanned on Anderson's SCEL Players Club app, scans the lottery documented in its transaction data. The case will be prosecuted by the 9th Circuit Solicitor's Office. Under section 59-150-260(B) of state law, influencing or attempting to influence a lottery prize through coercion, fraud, deception, or tampering is a felony carrying a fine of up to $50,000, up to five years in prison, or both, on each count.

Several recent SLED lottery cases have involved store employees, such as a Duncan Circle K clerk charged this month and a Summerville Circle K worker. This one, like a Cherokee County case involving an Ingles, accuses someone on the customer side of the counter.

Sources

SLED: SLED charges Berkeley County man with lottery fraud

South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 59, Chapter 150 (section 59-150-260)