A Wilkes-Barre man must pay $10,000 in restitution to a travel plaza where he claimed he only stole $300 worth of lottery tickets.
Gregory Allen Eddy, 47, of Bowman Street, pled guilty to theft and sentenced by Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas on March 15, 2021, to two years of probation for stealing lottery tickets while he was employed at the Blue Ridge Travel Plaza in Dorrance Township.
State police at Hazleton in court records say owners of the travel plaza noticed discrepancies with the lottery account. After an audit by an accountant, the travel plaza’s lottery account was shorted by $26,695 from Jan. 1 to Aug. 14, 2017, according to court records.
Eddy was in charge of activating lottery ticket packs when he refilled the lottery vending machine and was one of two employees who had keys to the machine, court records say.
In an attempt to cover up the theft, Eddy reported he lost a pack of lottery tickets.
When questioned by state police, Eddy denied he stole any lottery tickets.
After he was sentenced, Eddy filed an appeal over Lupas’ order that compelled him to pay the travel plaza $10,000 in restitution.
In his appeal to the state Superior Court, Eddy claimed he only stole $300 worth of lottery tickets.
The appellate court denied Eddy’s appeal in a five page ruling issued Wednesday stating Lupas conducted a restitution hearing with evidence showing the travel plaza suffered a $10,000 loss as a result of the lottery ticket thefts.
