Staff Report

Sabrina Jane Cunnington

SYRACUSE — A Syracuse woman was recently arrested after allegedly stealing thousands of dollars in lottery tickets from her former employer.

Sabrina Jane Cunnington, 39, 9200 E. Morrison Island Road, Syracuse, is charged with two counts of theft, both level 6 felonies.

On Aug. 10, 2021, a Syracuse Police detective was informed that Cunnington, who was employed at Wilby’s Gas Station at the time, was suspected of stealing lottery tickets while working. On Aug. 15, 2021, the detective received an incident report from a Hoosier Lottery investigator. The investigator said he was first contacted about the incident on Aug. 5, 2021, by a district manager for Wilby’s.

According to court documents, the district manager said Cunnington was seen on video playing lottery tickets while on shift. It was reported that Cunnington would pay for tickets with the money paid out from winning tickets.

On Aug. 10, 2021, the investigator retrieved copies of video surveillance from the dates Cunnington worked. Many of the videos show Cunnington selecting scratch-off instant lottery tickets from lottery bins, scanning the ticket with the lottery terminal, removing any winning money from the cash register, and taking possession of that money. She also occasionally played Fast Play tickets on these dates as well, conducting the same process of theft.

The total value of all tickets played, a loss to Wilby’s Gas Station, is estimated at $6,042. The total value of ticket redemptions, a loss to Hoosier Lottery, was estimated to be $5,741.

On Aug. 31, 2021, the Syracuse detective interviewed Cunnington, who admitted to selecting scratch-off lottery tickets and scanning them during some of her shifts. When she found a winning ticket, Cunnington would take the winning money from the register. She claimed she paid for the ticket cost out of the winnings.

Cunnington told the detective she was aware she was not even supposed to play lottery tickets from her employer, and that she signed paperwork stating it would be illegal if she did play the lottery. Cunnington also said she had been convicted of forgery in the past.

Cunnington was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on March 16, with a $5,250 surety and cash bond.