A gas station in Wapato, Washington, became the center of a pretty wild lottery sting operation this summer, and now one of its clerks is facing serious criminal charges.
Maria Garcia-Navarro, 35, was on duty at the station on August 20 when an undercover Washington State Lottery security specialist walked in with what looked like an ordinary scratch ticket. But here’s the catch—it wasn’t a real winning ticket at all. It was a decoy ticket, specially designed to test whether clerks are following state rules when customers come in with potential winners.
How the Sting Worked
The setup was pretty simple: the officer hands over the fake $1,000 ticket, the clerk scans it, and the machine does its job. When scanned, the lottery terminal is programmed to flash a cheerful message—“You’re in the Money”—and print out a slip of paper that instructs the player to head to a lottery office to claim the actual cash.
That’s exactly what happened. The system worked perfectly. But what Garcia-Navarro allegedly did next is where things got messy. According to court documents, she hesitated, looked at the ticket, and then told the undercover officer it wasn’t a winner.
The Alleged Scheme
Instead of sending him off to collect his prize, Garcia-Navarro allegedly kept the ticket. And two days later, investigators say it was her daughter who showed up at the Washington State Lottery office in Kennewick trying to cash it in. That’s when officials knew something was off—and immediately contacted local police.
When questioned, Garcia-Navarro admitted she remembered the officer who came in but stuck to her story that the machine said the ticket wasn’t valid. She even claimed she threw it away, only to later scan it into the lottery’s phone app for “points.” But investigators say she went a step further—reportedly confessing to cashing in on other winning tickets she’d found.
Courtroom Drama
On Thursday, Garcia-Navarro stood before a judge in Benton County Superior Court and pleaded innocent to fraudulently claiming a lottery prize. The case is now in the hands of prosecutors, who are painting it as a deliberate attempt to steal winnings that didn’t belong to her.
What makes this case stand out is that it wasn’t a real winner at all—it was essentially a test. State lottery officials sometimes use these decoy tickets to ensure clerks are honest and that customers are getting their rightful payouts. In this case, investigators say Garcia-Navarro failed that test in a very public way.
Why It Matters
For most people, a lottery ticket is about hope—the chance, however small, to walk away with some life-changing money. That’s why the integrity of the system is taken so seriously. If clerks start skimming tickets or lying to players, trust in the game disappears. That’s exactly why Washington State Lottery runs undercover stings like this one.
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Big takeaway: Even a $1,000 ticket can cause a major legal storm.
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The risk: What may have seemed like a quick grab for cash could now mean criminal charges, fines, and even jail time.
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The reminder: Lottery officials are watching, and the system is built with safeguards to catch fraud.
For Garcia-Navarro, what might have looked like an easy win could now cost her far more than she ever imagined. The trial will ultimately decide her fate, but one thing’s certain—the lottery isn’t a gamble you want to play on the wrong side of the law.
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