Mac’s operator forced to return $258K taken in lottery scam

An operator of two Edmonton Mac’s stores who pleaded guilty to defrauding the convenience store chain of more than $250,000 through a lottery scam will be forced to pay back the entire sum he stole.

Hassan Choudhry, 32, was also sentenced to one year in jail Tuesday in provincial court for defrauding the company of $257,779 over a four-month period in 2013.

Crown prosecutor James Stewart said between May 13 and Sept. 18 Choudhry created false lottery win payouts and pocketed the cash.

Mac’s head office became aware of the discrepancy when they were reconciling what Western Canada Lottery Corporation said they had paid out and what the two franchises operated by Choudhry had listed as cash winnings, Stewart said.

Western Canada Lottery Corporation knows exactly the amount it pays out to its lottery winners through various mechanisms such as bar codes, he said.

Mac’s was awarded a restitution order that is enforceable immediately and means any assets like vehicles can be seized and a lien can be put against any property that Choudhry owns.

Stewart said Choudhry resisted the application by saying that he was bankrupt. He also had complaints about how Mac’s dealt with his security deposit as an operator.

Provincial court judge Larry Anderson heard those arguments but told Choudhry that if he wanted to pursue those complaints he would have to do so in civil court, Stewart said.

If Choudhry does not have assets, Mac’s can garnish his wages in the future and, if he ever acquires assets in the future, they can be seized, the judge ruled.