Authorities in Florida have arrested and charged a man accused of using his company credit card to buy scratch-off lottery tickets amounting to $31,000. According to Fox News, the suspect, identified as Warren Alexander Johnson, committed the alleged crime while working as a truck driver for a company named All Phase Paving.
The owner of the company is said to have contacted authorities after noticing several thousand dollars had been illegally withdrawn from the company’s credit card since September 2023. The owner also informed police that Johnson and two other people only had credit cards linked to the company’s bank account. The owner explained that the credit cards were meant to be used for expenses pertaining to work.
The cards also had exclusive numbers, meaning there was a paper trail of any employee who used a particular card. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said the company’s owner noticed Johnson used the card he had been given to make transactions amounting to $31,693 at multiple convenience stores.
Authorities also said Johnson admitted to using the card to buy lottery tickets when the owner questioned him about the credit card charges, Fox News reported. Authorities stated that a manager at one of the convenience stores confirmed Johnson usually came to the establishment in a work truck, adding that the suspect bought scratch-off tickets with a credit card.
Johnson has since been charged with conducting a scheme to defraud between $20,000 and $50,000.