Police said they figured out a woman lied about her lottery winnings after she admitted to calling 911 pretending to be someone else, according to Scotts Valley police Officer David Ball. On Thursday, 35-year-old Adriana Bartch said her winning lottery ticket worth $5,000 was snatched from her hands by a passing bicyclist, police said.
"I was just stunned, and I watched him go away on his bicycle with my ticket. Then I went home," Bartch said.
Police arrested Bartch on suspicion of filing a false police report. Ball said on Thursday, they received a 911 of a woman claiming her boyfriend had stolen the ticket, was unable to cash it and would "get" the woman.
A police dispatcher said she recognized the 911 caller's voice as Bartch. Police brought in the self-proclaimed lottery winner and had her listen to the 911 call.
Bartch insisted she did not call 911, but then caved and admitted she made "a mistake," according to Ball.
She was then arrested, Ball said.
Police said another tip-off to the woman's fraudulent story was that lottery officials say there is no $5,000 prize in the "Cherry Tripler" game as Bartch had claimed.
The Cherry Tripler game is a $2 scratcher that gives the player two ways to win a top prize of up to $9,000. The overall odds of winning are 1 in 4.74.
Scotts Valley Police issued a press release late Thursday night. It said: "The following is an update to our press release of March 21st regarding the reported the theft of a lottery ticket. A follow up investigation into this incident revealed that the reporting party made the incident up, and confirmed that no theft actually occurred. The reporting party was arrested for filing a false police report."
She is scheduled to appear in court on May 2.
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