Sending a winning lottery ticket through the mail probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think “risky move,” but a South Florida woman found out the hard way that it can go very wrong. Florida Lottery officials say a U.S. Postal Service worker stole a winning ticket from the mail and redeemed it herself.
The accused, 28-year-old Lakaysha Kenya Lockhart of Hollywood, Florida, was arrested on July 23 following a joint investigation by the Florida Lottery Division of Security and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, according to a Florida Lottery news release.
Lockhart faces charges including grand theft, dealing in stolen property, filing a false claim for payment, two counts of unlawful use of a two-way communications device, and mail theft.
It’s the kind of story that makes you wonder how many hands a piece of mail passes through before it reaches its destination and how much trust we place in that system without a second thought. Most of the time, it works exactly as intended. This time, authorities say it did not.
How a Winning Lottery Ticket Ended Up in the Wrong Hands
The case began with a Pick 4 ticket purchased in the Tampa area. After discovering it was worth $2,600, the winner chose not to cash it herself. Instead, she mailed the ticket to a relative in the Fort Lauderdale area to help cover funeral expenses for a loved one, according to an arrest report cited by Local 10 News.
Because the prize exceeded the amount that could be redeemed at a lottery retailer, the ticket had to be claimed directly through the Florida Lottery. But the envelope never reached its intended destination. When the winner realized the ticket hadn’t arrived, she reported the issue to Lottery officials.
That report eventually led investigators to an unexpected discovery. A Florida Lottery inspector determined that the winning ticket had already been redeemed on June 19 at the Lottery’s Miami District Office.
According to Local 10, investigators traced the redemption to Lockhart, a USPS letter carrier assigned to the Oakland Park post office. The arrest report states that she was not known to the ticket’s owner and had not been authorized to claim the prize.
Florida Lottery special agents and USPS OIG investigators later conducted a joint operation that resulted in Lockhart’s arrest. According to the Florida Lottery, she admitted after her arrest that she stole the ticket from the mail and redeemed it herself.
Lockhart Remains Employed by USPS
A USPS spokesperson told Local 10 News that Lockhart joined the Postal Service on April 21, 2025, and remains employed by the agency but is currently off duty.
Florida Lottery Secretary Reginald D. Dixon praised investigators and thanked USPS OIG and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office for assisting with the case.
“Our players deserve confidence that every Lottery prize is protected through strong security measures and diligent oversight,” Dixon said in the Lottery’s release.
What Happens Next
Florida Lottery officials said the alleged offenses occurred in multiple judicial circuits and that the resulting cases will be prosecuted separately.
Local 10 reported that Lockhart was not listed as an inmate in Broward County jail records as of Friday morning. She has not entered a plea, and attorney information was not immediately available.
It’s a reminder that even a small envelope can carry something valuable and that the overwhelming majority of postal employees handle that responsibility properly every day.
Lockhart is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.