Florida Lottery Arrests Rohail Khan in $1,000 Scratch-Off Case
A Panama City convenience store clerk was arrested after a florida lottery security investigation alleged he kept a winning Scratch-Off compliance ticket and sold the right to claim it for $800. Rohail Khan faces one count of dealing in stolen property and one count of unlawfully selling the right to claim a lottery prize.
The Florida Lottery said the case began during a routine retailer compliance operation at Bay Food Mart in Panama City. Investigators determined that Khan allegedly failed to follow required procedures after processing a compliance ticket designed to appear as a legitimate $1,000 winner.
Bay Food Mart compliance check
According to the Florida Lottery, Khan allegedly kept the ticket and the documentation instead of returning them to the customer with claim instructions. Shortly after the operation ended, the ticket was scanned using the Florida Lottery mobile app.
Days later, an individual traveled to Florida Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee trying to claim the same prize. Investigators determined that Khan had allegedly sold the ticket for $800, and Florida law prohibits the transfer or sale of lottery prize claims.
Rohail Khan charges
The arrest followed the investigation, which placed the clerk at the center of a retailer compliance test meant to check whether lottery procedures were followed. Reginald D. Dixon, the Florida Lottery acting secretary, said, "Retailers are entrusted with following strict procedures that protect players and ensure fairness in every Lottery transaction,"
He added, "When those procedures are disregarded for personal benefit, it compromises the system we rely on." The Florida Lottery said its Division of Security will continue conducting compliance operations and pursuing accountability wherever violations occur.
Tallahassee prize claim attempt
The sequence moved from the store in Panama City to the lottery headquarters in Tallahassee, where the attempted claim exposed the mismatch between the ticket's handling and the compliance operation that produced it. For players and retailers, the case shows that prize claims tied to compliance tickets are still tracked after the initial store transaction ends.
Khan now faces the two charges tied to the alleged sale and handling of the prize claim, while the Florida Lottery continues the same enforcement operations that led to his arrest.
