Mount Vernon woman indicted in lottery tickets scam
May 15—SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A federal grand jury has indicted a Mount Vernon woman for conspiring to purchase almost 2,000 lottery tickets with stolen credit cards and cashing them in to obtain more than $50,000 in prizes.
A two-count indictment was handed up Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Springfield charging 31-year-old Amy Young with leading a conspiracy that operated between July 22 and Aug. 18, 2022.
The indictment alleges that stolen credit cards obtained by Young were used to buy Missouri Lottery tickets from a Phillips 66 station in Joplin. The defendant then enlisted others to collect the cash prizes of winning tickets, with a portion of the money going to them and the rest to Young.
In the case investigated by the FBI, Young purportedly bought 1,957 lottery tickets worth $62,082 with stolen credit cards. The tickets were turned in to obtain $54,248 in cash prizes, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office in Springfield announcing the indictment.
Young is charged with counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, stemming from a single purchase of $480 worth of lottery tickets with a stolen card Aug. 18, 2022.
