CINCINNATI, May 12 (UPI) -- A Cincinnati-area supermarket worker has admitted stealing $189,000 in lottery scratch-off tickets, authorities say.
Kroger customer service employee Deborah Strong, 53, of Westwood, pleaded guilty Monday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. She faces as much as five years in prison at her June 1 sentencing.
Kroger officials say they think Strong actually stole $530,000 in scratch-off tickets in the past four years, the newspaper said.
The woman has multiple theft convictions that authorities say stem from her compulsive gambling.
Strong told the judge she was taking tickets "every day, but it didn't seem like $189,000."
"A lot of them are losers," the Enquirer quoted Strong as saying. "It's not like I got that much money."
But Assistant Prosecutor Linda Calambas said Strong was stealing 500-ticket rolls and the supermarket chain said its investigation determined it lost $530,000.
Authorities said they caught up with Strong when Kroger realized in January it had a theft problem and found her name on a list of $5,000 and $10,000 winners.
