Former Store Owner Indicted In Lottery Ticket Scam

WOBURN – Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan announced today that a Middlesex County Grand Jury has indicted Chang Cho, 57, of Winchester, on a charge of larceny over $250 from a person with a disability. No arraignment date has been scheduled.

“It is horrific to hear about situations such as this,” said District Attorney Ryan. “Not only did the suspect allegedly take away the victim’s money, he also tried to take away her dignity. We look forward to prosecuting this case to the fullest extent possible.”

Melrose Police Chief Michael Lyle added, “I would like to commend all the investigators from the Middlesex DA’s Office, State, and the Melrose Police Department in presenting this case before the Middlesex Grand Jury. On behalf of the department, we are pleased with outcome of the Grand Jury’s decision.”

Authorities say that on November 3, 2014, a woman who lived in Melrose visited R & D Deli near her home to purchase a “PAYDAY” scratch ticket. After scratching the ticket in the store she saw that the ticket had the amount of $1,000 revealed. The victim then gave the ticket to Chang Cho. She says Cho spoke to his wife in a language other than English and the defendant’s wife then took $1,000 from her personal pocketbook and gave it to the victim. Cho then allegedly took back $60 from the victim explaining that the $60 was to pay for taxes.

PAYDAY ticket rules stipulate that the game winner receives ten times the amount on the ticket, which in this case, would have been $10,000. The woman’s family brought this incident to the attention of officials.

After an investigation, the Massachusetts Lottery Commission found Cho did not scan the winning ticket on November 3 or any day thereafter.

Since the reported incident, the R & D Deli has closed, and another market has taken its place with a new owner.

This case is being investigated by the Melrose Police Department and the Massachusetts Lottery Commission.

These charges are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The prosecutor assigned to this case is Assistant District Attorney Heidi Gosule. The Victim Witness Advocate is Lori Riccio.