Woman Makes Up Snatched Lottery Ticket Story

Mar. 23 - BCN -- A Scotts Valley woman who claimed to have her winning lottery ticket stolen by a passing bicyclist has admitted she made the whole thing up, according to a police.

Adriana Bartch, 35, claimed Wednesday that a man on a bicycle snatched her $5,000 winning lottery ticket after she yelled "I won" in a Scotts Valley supermarket parking lot.

But according to California State Lottery spokesperson Rob McAndrews, the "Cherry Tripler" scratcher Bartch claimed to have won with only pays out $1,000 and $9,000 awards.

Bartch was arrested for filing a false police report and has since been released, according to police.

"Obviously fraud does occur, as with any product, but I wouldn't describe it as common," McAndrews said.

The incident occurred at around 7:40 p.m. just after Bartch had stopped outside her parked car to scratch several lottery tickets purchased from a Safeway grocery store at 253 Mt. Herman Road, Scotts Valley police Officer David Ball said.

The California State Lottery has its own investigators who look into disputed claims, McAndrews said.

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