Florida concrete worker bought $30,000 in lottery tickets with company credit card: Police

A man in Florida was arrested after he confessed to using his company credit card to buy tens of thousands of dollars worth of lottery tickets, according to Pinellas County Court.

Warren Alexander Johnson, 47, of Clearwater, was arrested Monday and charged with a scheme to defraud, authorities said. Johnson is currently in the custody of Pinellas County Sheriff's office, and no bond has been set.

According to an affidavit obtained by USA TODAY, Johnson is a truck driver at a Florida paving company and was one of three people with access to the company's credit cards.

In September 2023, the company's owner discovered several thousand dollars worth of fraudulent charges on one of the company's credit cards from Chase Bank, police said. The affidavit stated that the credit cards were only supposed to be used for work-related purposes.

One of the credit cards was being used at several convenience stores for a total of $31,693.08, and police said the owner suspected Johnson because that specific card was assigned to him.

Florida law allows the use of credit cards to purchase lottery tickets as long as the tickets cost less than $20.

Police: Store manager recognized suspect

Authorities reported that the owner confronted Johnson regarding the charges, and he confessed to committing fraud. He told the owner he purchased a "couple thousand dollars " of lottery tickets with the company card.

There was no surveillance footage of Johnson making the purchases. However, a witness came forward. One of the store managers at a location that Johnson frequented recognized him and informed the police. The store manager mentioned that Johnson would arrive in a company truck and use a credit card to purchase scratch-off lottery tickets, according to the affidavit.

According to authorities, Chase never reimbursed the business and is still at a financial loss.