Four people who allegedly stole over $150,000 in lottery tickets indicted by Colorado grand jury
A Colorado grand jury has indicted three men and a woman who investigators say stole over $150,000 worth of lottery scratch tickets in at least 45 separate thefts from stores across the Front Range. That total includes the retail value of the tickets themselves and prize winnings, according to investigators.
The Colorado Lottery Investigation Unit assisted with the investigation and the indictments detail the course of events at each alleged theft in detail.
Prosecutors say the suspects -- Richard McBee, 48; Adam Pacheco, 41; Tawny McCurry, 35; and David Goetken, 56 -- employed a similar strategy in each of their alleged thefts, which spanned August 2023 to November 2024:
- Find gas stations and convenience stores with just a single clerk.
- Lure them away from the counter.
- Then, have an accomplice grab the tickets.
Investigators say they would tell the clerk things like they needed propane, they spilled gas or their credit card was stuck in a gas pump.
McBee would then redeem winnings from those tickets at another gas station or store, often within hours of stealing them, according to the indictment against him.
A 2016 Getty Images file photo shows people buying Powerball lottery tickets at a Safeway in Estes Park, Colorado.
Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via Getty Images
"The individuals accused of these lottery ticket retail thefts harmed businesses along the Front Range," said Attorney General Phil Weiser, whose office brought the case to a grand jury. "Colorado Lottery sales proceeds go toward preserving and protecting state parks, trails and open spaces, so Coloradans who enjoy the great outdoors are also victims of Lottery theft."
The indictments charge McBee with four counts of class-4 felony theft, Pacheco with one count of class-4 felony theft, McCurry with one count of class-5 felony theft, and Goetken with one count of class-5 felony theft. McBee's, Pacheco's, and McCurry's cases are in El Paso County and Goetken's case is in Arapahoe County.
The stores allegedly targeted by the four suspects included 7-Elevens, Circle K gas stations, Conocos, Kum & Go gas stations, Loaf N' Jugs and more in Aurora, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver, and other cities along the Front Range.
Bond was set at $10,000 for each of the four suspects.
Court records show menacing, burglary, fraud, and several theft cases for McBee across the Denver metro area, as well as in mountain communities, going back to 2019. The other three defendants also have similar records, except for Pacheco, who has cases going back to 2005, which include drug-related charges and an escape from custody in 2013.
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