Docs: Cashier stole nearly $5K in fake lottery winnings from Muncie gas station

MUNCIE, Ind. — A Muncie woman faces a felony charge after police say she stole nearly $5,000 by logging fake lottery ticket wins as a cashier at a local gas station.

Aniyah Johnson, 20, was arrested by Muncie police earlier this week on a preliminary charge of theft – a Level 6 felony. The charge stems from a report made by Johnson’s employer: the Speedway gas station on W. Jackson Street.

Officers were called around 7 p.m. on Sept. 6 by a Speedway employee who said that a coworker identified as Johnson had made at least 10 “fraudulent lottery winner transactions” during a shift the day before. All 10 incidents reportedly occurred between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., court docs show.

Police reviewed video surveillance footage that reportedly showed Johnson scanning something on her phone with the register’s bar code scanner. During many of these incidents, officers said no customers were standing at the register.

Johnson would then allegedly reach around the counter and hit a button to confirm the fake winning transactions, which would print a receipt that she put in her pocket. Video surveillance also showed that she was the only employee working at the time.

In total, Speedway management said the 10 transactions caught on video totaled $4,919.80 in winnings. Investigators believe that Johnson put the winning deposits into “an electronic account of some kind.”

Additionally, police said that at the end of Johnson’s shift, her case drawer was short by $501.88. In total, police said this brings the gas station’s losses to over $5,400.

Johnson was arrested on Tuesday by Muncie police and booked into the Delaware County Jail on one preliminary count of theft. Jail records show she was released the same day after paying a $5,000 bond.

Online court records have not yet been updated to show an initial hearing date in Johnson’s case. If convicted of a Level 6 felony, Johnson could face up to 2.5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.