Woman used lottery tickets to pay her rent, SC cops say. But there was a problem
A Lowcounty woman was recently arrested after she attempted to pay for her rent with lottery tickets, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. There was a problem with her plan, the scratch-off lottery games were stolen, SLED said in a news release.
Tillie Renee Ogden, a 48-year-old Ladson resident, was arrested Feb. 10, and charged with intent to defraud, counterfeit game tickets, according to the release.
Between Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, 2025, Ogden attempted to defraud the South Carolina Education Lottery by passing scratch-off lottery tickets to pay for rent at a Berkeley County residence, an arrest warrant said. The cash value of the lottery tickets was $125, according to the arrest warrant.
The person who was given the lottery tickets tried to cash them in at a Food Lion supermarket in Summerville, the arrest warrant said. It was then discovered that the scratch-off games had been stolen, according to the arrest warrant.
Ogden worked at a Piggly Wiggly grocery store in Ladson, and she was captured on video surveillance stealing the lottery tickets during her Nov. 30, 2025, shift, the arrest warrant said.
Ogden confessed to law enforcement officers and was booked into the Berkeley County Detention Center, according to SLED. A $40,000 bond was posted the same day she was arrested, Berkeley County court records show.
The South Carolina Education Lottery asked SLED to lead an investigation, and Ogden will be prosecuted by the 9th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, according to the release.
If convicted on the felony charge, Ogden faces a maximum punishment of 5 years in prison and a $50,000 fine, according to South Carolina law.
This is not the first time that Ogden has been arrested.
In June 2019, she pleaded guilty to a receiving stolen goods (value more than $2,000 but less than $10,000) charge, after being arrested the previous year, according to court records.
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This story was originally published February 18, 2026 at 11:53 AM with the headline "Woman used lottery tickets to pay her rent, SC cops say. But there was a problem."
