Some people never learn.
Others double down on stupid decisions until they land in federal court.
And a Florida man’s lottery ticket scheme backfired in the most embarrassing way possible.
Florida man steals $7,000 in lottery tickets then returns to redeem them
Justin Farley had what he probably thought was a brilliant plan.
The 43-year-old St. Petersburg man walked into a Circle K convenience store on May 5 and helped himself to $7,000 worth of scratch-off lottery tickets.
He "opened multiple cabinets and took scratch-off lottery tickets" before driving off in his gray Hyundai Elantra, according to court documents.¹
So far, so good for Farley’s criminal enterprise.
But here’s where the story takes a turn that would make even the dumbest criminals shake their heads in disbelief.
About 40 minutes after stealing the tickets, Farley drove to a nearby 7-Eleven to cash in his haul.
The store refused to redeem the stolen tickets.
Most people would cut their losses at that point and disappear with whatever tickets they could scratch off at home.
Not Farley.
This criminal mastermind decided to return to the scene of the crime – the exact same Circle K where he stole the tickets – to try redeeming them there.
The staff turned him away again.
But Farley wasn’t done yet.
He left the store, circled back minutes later for a third attempt at the same Circle K, and got rejected once more.
You’d think three strikes would be enough for any reasonable person to call it quits.
Desperation leads to armed robbery
After failing to cash in his stolen tickets three times, Farley escalated to full-blown armed robbery.
He returned to the 7-Eleven wearing a black mask, yellow shirt, and black Nike sneakers.
This time he brought what appeared to be a Glock handgun – though investigators later determined it was a replica.
Farley pointed the fake gun at the store clerk and demanded the cash register be opened.
He made off with a whopping $120 and a pack of Newport cigarettes before fleeing the scene.
For someone who started the evening thinking he had $7,000 worth of winning lottery tickets, walking away with $120 and some cigarettes had to sting.
But Farley’s problems were just getting started.
Surveillance cameras had captured his license plate at both stores, and investigators had clear footage of his face from multiple angles.
Police pulled him over on May 22 – more than two weeks after the crimes – and charged him with commercial burglary and grand theft.
During a recorded interview, Farley admitted to both the Circle K theft and the 7-Eleven robbery.
His explanation? He "needed money."
Federal prosecutors step in with serious charges
Here’s where Farley’s bad night turned into a potential lifetime of regret.
A Tampa grand jury indicted him under the Hobbs Act.
The Hobbs Act covers robberies that affect interstate or foreign commerce.
Since chain convenience stores sell products from across state lines, Farley’s stick-up qualified for federal prosecution.
He now faces one count of interference with commerce by threat or violence – a charge that carries up to 20 years in federal prison.
That’s a steep price to pay for $120 and a pack of cigarettes.
Court records show Farley has a criminal history spanning more than two decades, including felony convictions for drug sales, cocaine possession, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Look, here’s what makes this story perfectly Florida
You have to admire the sheer audacity of returning to the store where you just committed a crime to try cashing in your stolen goods.
It takes a special kind of criminal mind to think the same employees who watched you walk out without paying would happily process your winning tickets an hour later.
But this case shows how modern security systems make it nearly impossible for thieves to cash stolen lottery tickets.
The barcodes on those tickets immediately flag them as stolen when scanned at any legitimate retailer.
Farley would have discovered this if he’d done five minutes of research before embarking on his crime spree.
Instead, he’s looking at potentially two decades in federal prison for what started as a grab-and-run theft.
The real lesson here isn’t just about lottery ticket security or the stupidity of returning to the scene of your crime.
It’s about how quickly bad decisions can snowball into life-destroying consequences.
What began as a desperate attempt to score some quick cash turned into federal charges that could put Farley behind bars until he’s in his 60s.
For folks dealing with financial pressure, there are legal ways to get help that don’t involve pointing fake guns at convenience store clerks.
But some people have to learn the hard way that shortcuts rarely pay off – and federal prosecutors don’t have much patience for repeat offenders who escalate to armed robbery.
¹ Probable cause affidavit, United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, obtained by The New York Post, October 2025.
² Zoe Hussain, "Florida man stole $7K in scratch-off lottery tickets then returned to store to redeem them just hours later," New York Post, October 9, 2025.
