Police say the Lotto 6/49 ticket, which won $80,341, was allegedly stolen from an individual on Nov. 28, 2004. Charges were announced on Thursday by the OPP Investigation and Enforcement Bureau, which was assigned responsibility to investigate lottery ticket concerns.

“The information was forwarded to us from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG). Since Jan. 1, we’ve been investigating all suspicious and insider winners,” said Staff-Sgt. Mike Guilfoyle. “In this particular case, suspicion arose out of the original claim of the ticket.”

He refused to say from which store the lottery ticket was stolen, who the victim was or discuss any other details of the case.

The suspect no longer works at the store, he said. Guilfoyle said court orders were placed on the suspect’s homes in Burlington and Hamilton to prevent them from being sold. Some appliances were also seized with help from the OPP Provincial Asset Forfeiture Unit.

A 41-year-old Hamilton man has been charged with fraud over $5,000, theft over $5,000 and possession of property obtained by proceeds of a crime.

He’s scheduled to appear in Milton court on Dec. 12.