Naveen Gupta, 48, found himself in handcuffs Monday after his boss accused him of stealing scratch-off lottery tickets from the Englewood gas station where he worked.
It all started back on June 11. The manager at the Marathon Gas Station on Placida Road called the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office and said he suspected Gupta had swiped some scratch-off tickets and cashed them in at a nearby Publix. The arrest report says the manager only discovered something was off when a $20,100 gap showed up in the financial records.
The manager told deputies it pointed to Gupta because only two people at the store could activate the lottery books, and Gupta was one of them. It didn’t help Gupta’s case that the manager had also noticed him turning off security cameras during random shifts.
Deputies pulled surveillance footage from Publix and spotted Gupta on three different days cashing in scratch-off tickets. Each time, he wore a camouflage hat, glasses, and an earring.
Things came to a head on Monday, when Gupta showed up at the manager’s other shop at Discount Wine & Smoke on South Beneva Road. He asked for his job back, saying he wanted to pay off the money he owed from the stolen tickets. The manager turned him down.
Gupta then followed the manager back to the gas station. That’s when the manager called deputies, who arrested Gupta for grand theft.
It’s important to note this is an arrest, not a conviction. Gupta maintains the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, just like any other person. In Florida, arrest records are public and posted online by the Sheriff’s Office. Information can be found on their website at ccso.org.
