A Florida man has been hit with federal charges after allegedly stealing $7,000 worth of scratch-off lottery tickets from a convenience store — and then returning hours later to the same store to cash them in, according to authorities.
Justin Farley, 43, pulled up to a Circle K in St. Petersburg on May 5, where he allegedly broke into multiple cabinets and grabbed several books of lottery tickets before fleeing in his gray Hyundai Elantra, a probable cause affidavit stated.
Roughly 40 minutes later, Farley went to a nearby 7-Eleven to redeem the tickets. When that failed, he returned to the same Circle K to try his luck again — twice. Both times, store staff refused to cash the stolen scratch-offs…