SC man in possession of $7,500 worth of lottery tickets arrested. Here’s why
A man was recently arrested for tampering with several packs of lottery tickets worth thousands that had been delivered to the convenience store where he worked, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
James Patrick Gaskins, a 55-year-old Chesterfield County resident, was arrested May 26, SLED said in a news release.
Gaskins was charged with attempt to influence game by coercion, tampering, deception, etc., according to the release.
The charge stems from a crime committed between Dec. 17, 2025 and April 15, 2026, when Gaskins worked at the Flash Market, a gas station/convenience store, an arrest warrant shows. That’s in Chesterfield at 1123 West Main Street.
Gaskins defrauded the South Carolina Education Lottery by tampering with 20 unopened packs of scratch-off lottery tickets, according to the arrest warrant. Gaskins opened the unactivated packs of lottery games by tearing the plastic wrapping and then scratching random tickets to find winners, the arrest warrant shows.
The tampered-with tickets were unable to be sold, and were deemed worthless according to the arrest warrant. The value of the damaged tickets was $7,533, the arrest warrant said.
Gaskins was booked into the Chesterfield County Detention Center, according to SLED. Gaskins posted a $10,000 personal recognizance bond the same day he was arrested, Chesterfield County court records show. He’s scheduled to return to court on June 25, according to judicial records.
The 4th Circuit Solicitor’s Office will prosecute Gaskins, according to SLED.
If convicted on the felony charge Gaskins faces a maximum punishment of 5 years in prison and a $50,000 fine, according to South Carolina law.
The SLED investigation was requested by the South Carolina Education Lottery.
This is the second time this month that employees of a Chesterfield County convenience store were arrested for crimes involving lottery tickets. On May 14, Chesterfield County residents Darlene F. Helms, 67, and Yoisha Renee Merrell Chambers, 47, were charged with intent to defraud (counterfeit game tickets), according to SLED.
The charges stem from crimes in March, when the women are accused of stealing lottery tickets from In & Out Mini Mart, a gas station/convenience store, where both women worked, arrest warrants show. From March 11-18, Helms and Chambers brought the 369 stolen scratch-off lottery games back to the convenience store and redeemed the winning tickets for $11,478, according to arrest warrants.
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This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 11:46 AM with the headline "SC man in possession of $7,500 worth of lottery tickets arrested. Here’s why."
